In the 50-overs World Cup, Pakistan faced another defeat at the hands of India, which continues to be a challenging opponent for the 1992 champions. The defeat wasn’t the only concern for Pakistan; it was the manner in which they lost that raised worries.
Captain Babar Azam (50) and the in-form Mohammad Rizwan (49) managed the only half-century partnership in the Pakistan innings. Arthur praised them as “classy performers” but believed they should have been more assertive, particularly against the Indian spinners.
Pakistan’s bowling also showed weaknesses against India. Shaheen Afridi, their pace spearhead, has struggled since returning from a knee injury, and spinner Shadab Khan’s lack of success in the middle overs has been a point of concern.
India then exposed Pakistan’s bowling vulnerabilities and secured a lopsided victory with nearly 20 overs to spare.
“To go from 155 for two, as it was, to 190-odd all out is just not on. Credit to India, I thought they bowled really well, but I just thought our performance was just a little bit timid.”
In front of a passionate crowd of over 100,000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the host nation, India, maintained their unbeaten record against Pakistan, achieving a comprehensive victory by outperforming their rivals in all aspects of the game.
Team director Mickey Arthur acknowledged that Pakistan’s batters lacked aggression in their first loss in three matches. He stated, “I just think we were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance.”
Pakistan, who were comfortably positioned at 155-2 in the 29th over, experienced a dramatic collapse, getting all out for 191 with more than seven overs left in their innings.
“I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more… But again, they were building and building nicely. I think we’ve got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we’ve had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end.”
Arthur mentioned they were working on addressing these issues. He said, “The key for us now is getting our players to remain calm. It’s getting our players to focus on the next game, and it’s to build them up and make sure that they go into that next game thinking they can run through a brick wall.”
