Indian captain Virat Kohli admitted that they didn’t execute their plans properly and Pakistan outplayed them in their opening match of the T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan hammered India by 10 wickets and dominated the game from the get-go to register their first win over the arch-rivals in a World Cup match.
Pakistan was able to put their noses in front after Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in quick succession to push the opposition on the backfoot. Rohit was plumbed in front of the wickets by a perfect yorker whereas Afridi got the ball to swing back into KL Rahul and found the gulf between his bat and pad to hit the timber.
India huffed and puffed to 151 runs on the board Rishabh Pant scored 39 runs while Virat Kohli scored a fighting fifty. Afridi also got the big wicket of Virat Kohli in the death overs.
On the other hand, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were able to get Pakistan off to a great start and got the boundaries they needed whenever Indian bowlers created a bit of pressure with a few quiet overs. It was a complete performance from Pakistan as they ticked all the right boxes whereas India will need to bounce back stronger in the coming matches.
Kohli added that they would have wanted 15-20 runs more on the board but they were not able to get it as they got off to a poor start.
Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation, “We didn’t execute properly. Credit where it’s due and Pakistan outplayed us today. They started brilliantly with the ball, and 3 wickets for 20 runs was not a good start. We needed wickets early but with the bat they gave us absolutely no chances. It played slow in the first half and hitting through the line was not that easy as it was in the second half, after 10 overs”.
He continued, “We needed those 15-20 extra runs and for that we needed a good start but Pakistan’s bowling didn’t allow us to get those extra runs. We could make the argument of getting in another slower bowler, but it’s important to stay composed and understand our strengths because with the dew the slower bowlers couldn’t be effective either. This is just the first game of the tournament, not the last”.
India will look to turn the tables and they certainly will need to re-assess a few things before their second game. The Virat Kohli-led team will next face New Zealand at the same venue on Sunday.
