Indian captain Rohit Sharma admitted that Pakistan played better than them in the Super Four clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. India posted a par score of 181 runs after they were put into bat by Babar Azam but Pakistan went on to chase down the score with a ball to spare and with five wickets in hand.
Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Rizwan added 73 runs for the third wicket and it took the game away from India. Furthermore, Arshdeep Singh dropped a simple catch of Asif Ali, when the right-hander was yet to open his account.
26 runs were needed off the last two overs but India’s pack leader Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken for 19 runs in the penultimate over, which swing the pendulum in Pakistan’s favor.
Nawaz scored a fine knock of 42 runs off just 20 balls and it was a crucial knock to keep the required run rate in check. Rizwan continued his good form as he scored 71 runs from 51 balls to help Pakistan get close to the target.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “It’s a high pressure game we know that. You’ve got to be at it every time. A game like that can take a lot. We were calm even when there was a partnership between Rizwan and Nawaz. But that partnership obviously went a little long and they batted brilliantly. Games like this can bring the best out of them if they deliver. These are the games that can make them. They’ve done it in the past. There’s a class in the other team as well. And we’re not surprised with that. We understand the pitch gets slightly better in the second innings. It’s a good learning for us. I thought it was a good score. Any pitch, any conditions when you get 180 it’s a good score. We got to learn a lot today – what sort of mindset we need to have when defending a score like that. Like I said you’ve got to give credit to Pakistan. They’ve played better than us.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli played a fine knock of 60 runs off 44 balls earlier in the innings. Kohli looked at his best after a long time as he timed the ball to perfection and batted at the top of his game.
Rohit added, “The form is brilliant (talking about Kohli). Needed someone to bat long when the others were getting out. He batted with that tempo as well. Virat getting that score was crucial from the team’s point of view. Wickets of Hardik and Rishabh was not needed at that time. But we want to play with an open mindset. While taking that approach you’ll not always have success.”
India will next face Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
