After all the frenzy and massive hype, India and Pakistan World Cup clash turned out to be a lopsided contest last year.
It was a game played at the Old Trafford, in which the Men in Blue thrashed Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS method) and extended their winning streak to 7-0 against the arch-rivals in the World Cup dating back to 1992.
Just over a year later, Pakistan’s current bowling coach Waqar Younis reflected on that World Cup game, saying poor decision-making starting with the toss cost his side.
"I think Pakistan got it totally wrong against India in 2019 starting right from the toss. I think they were hoping that the pitch will do a lot more and they will get early wickets which will put India under pressure," Waqar said on 'Q20', a chat show presented by 'GloFans'.
Asked to bat first, India rode on Rohit Sharma’s 113-ball 140, Virat Kohli’s 65-ball 77 and KL Rahul’s 78-ball 57 to post 336/5 on the board. In reply, Pakistan could only muster 212/6 in 40 overs after regular rains curtailed the game.
Praising the Indian opener Rohit and Rahul’s 136-run opening stand, Waqar said: "...they did not really let the bowlers settle. And, the pitch did not really do much and once they get going it was very difficult to stop them. They piled up so many runs to which Pakistan had no answers at all."
"So, I think it was a silly mistake when, to begin with, winning the toss and asking India to bat because batting first on that pitch was the way to go and it did not really help Pakistan that day and India was too good, way too good," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
