The problems began right from the start for Pakistan as the Indian new-ball bowlers managed to control the opening proceedings with some tight bowling.
Things took a turn for the worse as they lost two wickets in the powerplay. Despite being settled at one end, Mohammad Rizwan failed to ramp up the scoring rate and ended with a strike rate of just over 100.
Claiming that both teams employed a tame approach when it came to their batting, Akhtar said on his YouTube channel:
Rizwan scored an unbeaten 79 off 55 deliveries at the same venue during Pakistan’s previous meeting against India at the 2021 T20 World Cup. However, he failed to get going on Sunday, which put his side on the backfoot.
“It was overall a bad game of cricket, both teams were really poor” - Shoaib Akhtar
India nearly made a mess of their run chase, with wickets falling at regular intervals. It took a composed effort from Ravindra Jadeja and a whirlwind finish from Hardik Pandya to get the team across the line.
Noting that both sides played poor cricket, Akhtar said:
The Men in Green had two overs of Haris Rauf, one over each of Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz heading into the death overs. Babar Azam delayed the re-introduction of the left-arm spinner, hoping that the pacers would pick up a wicket. However, with no options left, Nawaz bowled the final over but failed to defend seven runs.
Where did Pakistan go wrong in the defeat against India? Let us know what you think.
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