Pakistan cricket team lost their second match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against arch-rivals India on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
The game was set by Pakistan's bowlers for the batters as they bundled out India on 119 runs. The batters still failed to chase the below-average target of 120 and the batting lineup habitually collapsed under pressure.
They could only score 117 with captain Babar Azam scoring 13 on 10 and experienced wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan playing an innings of 31 off 44.
The defeat has left fans and former cricketers of the country fuming and Waqar Younis was no exception as he talked about the loss on an Indian sports channel after the match.
The former captain and coach praised the Indian side and claimed that India gave Pakistan a good chance of winning by batting poorly, "I think India gave Pakistan a good chance of winning this game by batting poorly. They could have easily put up maybe 140-150. Losing those seven wickets right at the end didn't really help.
“However, India is such a good balanced side. If they don't bat well, they know they have got [Jasprit] Bumrah, [Mohammed] Siraj, Ravindra [Jadeja] - they have their bowling and fielding also really covered, which makes them a super team," Waqar stated.
Waqar also hopelessly stated that the game was easily given to the batters who performed horribly.
"Pakistan - if you can't win this game, what should I say? This was given to you on a plate and Pakistan really spilled it. It was a horrible performance by the Pakistani batters. There were a few partnerships in the beginning but they couldn't really finish the game," Waqar added.
Waqar concluded by criticising Rizwan over his poor shot selection against Jasprit Bumrah who outclassed the Pakistani side as he took three wickets for 14 runs in his spell of four overs including game-changing wickets of Babar Azam and Rizwan. He also got Iftikhar Ahmed towards the end of the innings as Pakistan’s batting lineup crumbled.
"The game was in hand, it was run-a-ball. That shot from Mohammad Rizwan was very ordinary, and when he played that shot and got out, I knew something special was going to happen because we know Bumrah and Siraj's capabilities," he said.
After this defeat against India in New York, Pakistan’s chances to qualify for the Super 8s are again depending on countless ifs and buts.
The team will continue their T20 World Cup 2024 journey as they clash with Canada and Ireland on June 11 and June 16 respectively.
- Waqar Younis
