Pakistan are now facing a must-win situation in their next fixture versus arch-rivals India.
Ahead of the marquee game, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has tipped India as favorites. While the Men in Blue opened their campaign with a thumping six-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Dubai, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side lost to New Zealand by 60 runs in Karachi.
Talking about Pakistan's chances and their must-win situation, Basit said it will be a big upset if Pakistan get the better of India.
"It is a 'final' for Pakistan. India are heavy favourites. If Pakistan win, it will be an upset in my view because Pakistan's cricket has gone down, hit a low," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
"Agar one-sided hota hai, toh ab TV bhi nahi tootenge kyuki Pakistan mei mehangai boht zyada hai. Ab zabaan se hi har cheez hogi (if Pakistan lose one-sided, now fans wont' break TV sets because of the country's economic situation; now there will be only voiced opinions)."
The hosts suffered a major setback after the defeat against the Kiwis, losing their attacking opener Fakhar Zaman to injury, which led to Imam-ul-Haq coming in as replacement.
"Who will bat at No. 3, nobody knows. They might ask Usman Khan to open with Imam and bring Babar (Azam) at No. 3. Something needs to be done," Basit added, talking about the team's dire state.
Babar has been opening since the ODI tri-series at home ahead of the Champions Trophy and was slammed for his turtle-paced 64 off 90 balls despite chasing a target of 321.
"Fakhar Zaman is out. Now Pakistan's batting line-up from number one to five is similar and there is no scope to swap positions. It's true. If their car is running in third gear, then it will stay in third gear. It won't be able to switch to turbo, maybe in the last 5 or 10 overs, maybe," said Basit.
Meanwhile, India outclassed Bangladesh in their campaign opener and Basit said the Rohit Sharma-led side will continue to play normal cricket and take it like just another match.
"Baaton ki cricket ab nahi hone chahiye, ab bat se, dimag se (Pakistan now need to make their bats talk, use their brain)," he said.
Captain Rohit Sharma, who scored a century during the ODI series at home against England to return to form, looked good in his 36-ball 41 against Bangladesh, while Virat Kohli had to struggle for his 22, which came off 38 balls.
"Virat intezar karta hai Pakistan ke match ka (Virat waits for the match against Pakistan)," said Basit, predicting that the batting legend may play a big knock in the pressure match.
He concluded by criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board for the money it spent in refurbishing the three stadiums in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. He said the board should instead have applied its mind in building a team.
"The amount of money they spent in building the stadiums, they could have built a good team in half that amount. But to build a team you need intelligence. What is your vision? What's your thinking? How do you view a player's talent and longevity? These things matter."
As things stand at the moment in Group A, New Zealand are leading the points table with India at No.2 because the Kiwis have a superior net run-rate (NRR) of +1.200 compared to India's +0.408.