What Went Wrong For Pakistan Against India?

Pandya smashes the quicker delivery down the ground and goes all the way. The game is done, and Pakistan has lost. But where did they actually lose? What went wrong for them and cost them the game? To find the answer, keep reading.

It was a tight game, and there were many nervous moments. Let’s take a look at some crucial blows:

• Babar’s Wicket

Babar started the proceedings with a couple of lovely straight drives in the first two overs. He was looking for complete control, which was an ominous sign for India. But then Bhuvenushwar struck gold to remove Babar with a bouncer. That was a huge blow to Pakistan’s confidence, and the intent was missing after that moment.

• The 19th Over

Pakistani bowlers bowled with immense control, bringing the equation to 21 of 19. Pakistan’s specialist death bowler Haris Rauf took the ball and decided to go back of a length. That was a wrong tactic as that in-between length allowed Pandya to free his arms. As a result, he ended up conceding 14 in the over, and the match was out of Pakistan’s hands.

• Extras and Poor Fielding

Pakistan conceded 14 extras in the innings, which are way too much by any standards. Then, the fielding fumbles were too costly for them again.

Fakhar dropped Kohli on 0, and he went on to score 35 crucial runs. Then in the 19th over, Babar couldn’t stop the boundary and cost Pakistan 2 extra runs. Rizwan’s misfields in consecutive overs cost Pakistan 3 extra runs. These are the small margins that prove to be decisive each time.

• Batting in Overs 13-17

After 12 overs, Pakistan was placed pretty well at 86-2. But then they lost 4 wickets for just 27 runs in the next 5 overs. This was the reason for them to fall 15 to 20 runs below the par score.

• Slow Over Rate

After the 16th over, Pakistan was forced to bowl with only 4 fielders outside the circle. It allowed India to unleash a few easy boundaries in crucial moments.

• Team Selection and Batting Order

It is where Pakistan actually lost the game. Playing Iftikhar, Khushdil, and Asif Ali together doesn’t make any sense. Then, sending Iftikhar and Khushdil ahead of Shadab was a bizarre move. Shadab has been performing brilliantly in a white ball, and he deserved to come at 4. Also, Haider Ali was a much better option at #5.

Outro

Pakistan played well and fought hard till the end. But, there were more than a few major areas of concern. If they have to win this Asia Cup, they must eliminate these issues.