- The die-hard Indian cricket fans were confident and convinced that the ongoing T20 World Cup league match against Pakistan would be a cakewalk rolling over the opposition without breaking into much sweat. The reason for such a belief was the way Team India has dominated Pakistan over the last 13 ICC-sponsored tournaments by emerging winners across the two shorter versions. Of late, Team India has made tremendous progress in all formats of the game and counts amongst the top three teams in the world. Expectations of a win from the millions of Indians were natural as the recent form of the team did not allow for any doubts to be raised or entertained. Now, what eventually transpired on the day was certainly unexpected.
PC: Hindustantimes
- Not only the Indian challenge almost petered out in the first six overs of the game itself but the way it could not recover from the initial blows till the end made it well-nigh impossible to offer a semblance of fighting chance either. The gangly, energetic, and lively pacer in Shaheen Shah Afridi delivered deathly blows to Team India’s chances at the early stages of the game by dismissing the hitman Rohit Sharma and talented KL Rahul in his first spell. Though Virat Kohli held up one end to notch up a fifty, the final target set was not enough to trouble the Pakistani side. Rishabh Pant did show glimpses of his destructive abilities to score quick runs but could not sustain it too long to help the team’s cause. And rest of the batters were found wanting against quality bowling attack.
- As we are aware, the game of cricket can be unpredictable as anything can happen over a short period by changing the very complexion of the contest. On the day, nothing happened vis-à-vis surprises as the Pakistani opening duo of Captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan clinically and nonchalantly went about decimating the Indian bowling attack to smithereens. That Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets speaks volumes about the former’s complete domination over the latter in every department of the game. Most worryingly, none of the Indian pacers could trouble the Pakistani batsmen who went about scoring freely notching up eye-catching effortless half-centuries against their names. Where did Team India go wrong then?
PC: News Desk in Karachi
- The margin of defeat will rankle the team for some time to come. Players like Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya marked as power-hitters failing to force pace when it mattered most also played a huge part. Bowlers too were hardly effective on the day. Assuming the loss is a one-off thing, the Indian team is expected to bounce back with all guns blazing in the next crucial match against New Zealand. No need to undertake chop and change but the Indian team management must take a call on playing Hardik Pandya if he is not fit enough to bowl. The balance of the team gets affected as the sixth-bowler option gets sacrificed in trying to accommodate Pandya purely as a batsman. Hopefully, cricket fans will witness an improved show from the team going forward.
