Pakistan failed to chase down a paltry target of 120 in the T20 World Cup 2024 match against India.
In the all-important clash, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first. Riding on fast bowlers’ brilliance, the Men in Green bundled out India for a paltry 119 in 19 overs on a tricky two-paced pitch.
Naseem Shah (3/21 in 4 overs), Haris Rauf (3/21 in 3 overs), Mohammad Amir (2/23 in 4 overs) and Shaheen Afridi (1/29 in 4 overs) shared nine wickets among them while one Indian batter got run-out.
However, the Babar Azam-led side failed to chase down a simple target. None of the Pakistani batters were able to put pressure on the Indian bowlers and were eventually restricted to 113/7 in 20 overs.
After the game, former PCB chief Ramiz Raja didn’t mince his words as he said India did Pakistan "a favour by playing poorly" in the latter half of their innings.
"India did them a favour by playing poorly. Actually because they were playing like mavericks, otherwise they would have easily gotten to 140-150, which would have been beyond Pakistan. But because of their faulty shot-making and some good bowling, Pakistan came back into the game," Ramiz told Cricbuzz.
According to Ramiz Raja, Mohammad Rizwan's wicket was the turning point of the match. The wicketkeeper-batter was cleaned up Bumrah for 31 off 44 balls in the first ball of the 15th over.
Pakistan required 40 runs off 36 balls but after Rizwan's dismissal, their lower-middle order failed to keep the scoreboard ticking.
"We didn't see any positive intent. There was no great game awareness either. That (Mohammad) Rizwan shot off (Jasprit) Bumrah was not on. Bumrah had come in to provide the breakthrough. His two overs were make-or-break for Pakistan. If they had put their mind to it and made sure that Bumrah was negotiated safely, it could have been a smooth sailing. Also Bumrah, as we all know, is a classic (bowler). Give him the ball in any crunch moment and he will deliver. There is so much clarity in his mind on what he wants to do and he's always a step ahead of the opponent. That really was the critical moment," Ramiz opined.
"Because Rizwan was the last man standing for Pakistan. You see, the thing that frustrates me is that when you're chasing 120, even on a tricky pitch, even against a good bowling attack like India's, all you need is one solid partnership. That's it. No heroics were needed, no fours or sixes. You were going at six an over. Why did you let it slip? That's got to do with temperament," he further remarked.
Ramiz also questioned Pakistan players’ ability to perform in pressure situations. It was Pakistan’s seventh defeat in eight games against India in the T20 World Cup.
"You got to do simple things. It was a difficult pitch and you saw how India threw their wickets away by trying to be aggressive. You couldn't be aggressive because there was variation in the bounce. So what you had to do was to just negotiate two or three balls that were difficult. Otherwise, there were three, four runs. But they kept losing wickets. They lost momentum. It's just that they tend to freeze in a tense situation. And that's very sad to see. This was the best chance they had in a very long time to beat India," he concluded.
Babar Azam’s men need to win their final two Group A matches by big margins to stay alive in the competition.
Pakistan next face Canada in New York in a do-or-die clash on Tuesday (June 11).