Mohammad Rizwan, the Pakistan captain, accepted that the men in green dropped numerous cards in six-wicket loss against arch-rival India during the Champions Trophy high-stakes match-up in Dubai on Sunday. Pakistan needed victory over a tough Indian outfit to keep their hopes alive in the Champions Trophy, but it went awry for them, as much as when they won the toss. The team had a slow batting performance and an uninspired bowling display threatened their title defense. On the other hand, Indian spinners exerted pressure on Pakistan’s top stars as Virat Kohli dominated the chase with his unbeaten 51st ODI century. Rizwan was forthright in his assessment of how Pakistan performed against their arch-rivals after falling short once again against them.
“We won the toss, but we never really benefited from it. Their (India) bowlers performed excellently. Saud Shakeel, I wanted him to take it forward. Bad choices by me. They put us under pressure. Whenever you lose, it’s always about not performing in all departments,” Rizwan said at the post-match presentation.
Pakistan after electing to bat first managed only 241 on board put Pakistan in a vague glimmer of hope when Shaheen Afridi castled India’s captain Rohit Sharma’s middle stump during the power play.
However, this once was left transient since when Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a 69-run stand and broke the back of Pakistan’s defense. Some dropped catches also hurt Pakistan as this again became a case where they succumbed to their dreaded rival in an ICC tournament.
“We wanted to squeeze, but we couldn’t. Kohli and Gill batted excellently and took the game away. We need to improve in fielding. We made plenty of mistakes in this match,” Rizwan concluded.
Pakistan’s exit from the group stage of the Champions Trophy seems imminent. New Zealand plays Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Monday, and if New Zealand nabs victory, Pakistan will be left with a nasty taste in the mouth of its title defense. The defending champions will play their last match of the group stage against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
