Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala thinks that they failed to adopt quickly which cost them the match against Uganda in the group-stage match of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday (June 6). They lost the match by 3 wickets.

Uganda bowler Frank Nsubuga's most economical spell, with others bowlers stood tall to bundle PNG's innings to a paltry 77 runs. In reply, Riazat Ali Shah's gutsy knock of 33 off 56 deliveries helped Uganda chase down the total in 18.2 overs with 3 wickets in hand.

Vala also thinks that they were short of runs. Only three batters touched the double-digit score for them. “It was a difficult wicket to bat on, not just for us but for them also. We could not adapt as quickly. Runs around 100 would have been enough. We lost crucial wickets at crucial times,” he said.

The captain also talks about the tough wicket and says that they learned after seeing Uganda’s bowling and they took 3 wickets early in the chase within first 3 overs. But those were not enough. But he hopes for the best in the next 2 matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand despite the loss in first two matches.

“We spoke about how it was a tough wicket to start on. We learned from the lines and lengths they were bowling. We got three early wickets. But when defending a low score, we have to take our chances, and we gave away too many extras (as well). Those are the things, as the tournament goes on and against good players, we have to improve, moving into the games against Afghanistan and New Zealand,” Vala added.