After chasing down a team for 119 runs, if the respective team loses 2 wickets and scores 72 runs, do they have any chance of defeat? The answer is yes. Pakistan proved that. Despite getting a great chance to win against India, they lost it. Lost by 6 runs.
Who loses such a match? Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunus, former captains of Pakistan, were not surprised by Babar Azam’s actions. Reacting angrily, they said, these Pakistani players should be sent home immediately.
Walker Yunus told Star Sports, ‘India gave us a great opportunity by batting badly. They could easily score 140-150 runs if they wanted. Losing seven wickets at the end was not beneficial for the team. Although India is a very balanced team. Even if they did not bat well, they knew that they have bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Siraj. They have made up for the shortfall in batting with bowling and fielding. That makes them a super team.’
Waqar criticized Mohammad Rizwan by name. The former Pakistan captain and coach reminded Jasprit Bumrah of how big a mistake it was for him to play over the line. Rizwan’s dismissal changed the picture of the match and the match tilted towards India.
Walker said, ‘the match was completely in our hands. Ball to take singles runs. But the shot that Rizwan played was of very ordinary quality. Whenever he goes to play such shots, he is out. I knew something was going to happen. Because, we knew about the capabilities of Bumrah and Siraj.’
Legendary pacer, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram speaks in the tone of Waqar Younis. “They have been playing cricket for 10 years and I can never teach them anything new,” he told Star Sports. Rizwan is not aware of his game. He needed to know that Bumrah could deliver wicket-taking deliveries. It would have been wiser if he had tackled the ball with caution. But instead of doing that, Rizwan went for big shots and lost the wicket.’
Wasim Akram hit Iftekhar Ahmed and Fakhr Zaman. After India were bowled out for 119 in 19 overs, Pakistan lost seven wickets for 113 in 20 overs in a low-scoring thriller and lost the match by six runs. India’s six-run victory left 2022 runners-up Pakistan on the verge of exiting the group stage. Wasim Akram said in this regard, ‘Iftikhar Ahmed does not seem to know how to play any shot except one shot on the leg side. He has been part of the team for years; But he doesn’t know how to bat.’
Then Wasim said, ‘I can’t go and say that Fakhr Zaman should play with awareness. Pakistani players feel that if they don’t perform well, the coaches will be changed, nothing will come of them. It’s time to keep the coach and change the whole team.’
Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have not been on speaking terms since the change of captaincy. Wasim said, ‘There are players who don’t want to talk to each other. This is international cricket, and you are playing for your country. Keep these players at home.’
It was the second lowest score successfully defended in a Men’s T20 World Cup. India have won 7 out of 8 World T20 matches against Pakistan so far. Pakistan won only one match.
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