Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar reacted to the team’s defeat against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan dominated from the get-go and the Indian team was not able to bring their best to the table as they absolutely received a hammering from their arch-rivals.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bowl first. Shaheen Shah Afridi justified his captain’s call as he struck on the fourth ball he bowled and removed Rohit Sharma. The Indian vice-captain was plumbed in front of the wickets by Shaheen Shah Afridi and then the left-arm pacer dismissed in-form KL Rahul.

India was put on the ropes and they could only manage 151 runs on the board after Kohli scored 57 while Rishabh Pant contributed with 39 runs. On the other hand, Pakistan cruised to the total with all of their 10 wickets intact and 13 balls to spare. Mohammad Rizwan scored an unbeaten knock of 79 runs while Azam scored 68 to take their team over the line in a comprehensive manner.

Gavaskar is hopeful that the Indian team will pick themselves up in the upcoming matches and they will need to come up with their best.

“It has absolutely been a hammering, as far as India is concerned. Hopefully, they will pick themselves up quickly because it’s important. You’ve you got to forget what has happened in this game and focus on the next few games that are there,” quipped Gavaskar on Star Sports.

Pakistan was clinical in their performance and they ticked the right boxes in the field to come up with a collective effort. The bowling was up to the mark as Afridi was right on the money whereas Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam looked in no trouble at all against the Indian bowlers.

Pakistan will look to continue their good show while India will aim to bounce back stronger. Both teams will next take on New Zealand in their second game.