Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan explained the difference between Pakistani and Indian batters after the former collapsed badly after a good start in the 12th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
With the exception of Babar Azam (50), Mohammad Rizwan (49), Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Abdullah Shafique (20), none of the batters showed any significant resistance with the bat as the entire side returned to the pavilion for just 191 runs.
The Men in Green were 155-2 and faced a big collapse as they lost eight wickets for 36 runs only.
Meanwhile, in reply to Pakistan’s 191-run target, the Blues started on a high note and were eyeing boundaries from the first over.
Irfan, 38, believes that the difference between the batters of the two sides is “intent”.
“INTENT is the big difference between India and Pakistan batters. Indian batters are so much more positive with their approach,” Pathan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
It is worth mentioning that the Men in Green were all out for 191 runs in just 42.5 overs (255 balls) and out of those, they played 156 dot balls, which ultimately proved costly as the pressure was shifted to the new batters who crumbled under pressure and gave their wickets away.
After completing his half-century, Babar was bowled by Mohammad Siraj which started the collapse as the Green Shirts were all out in the next 12 overs for 191 runs.
Also, Rizwan was batting 47 runs when Babar got out. As soon as the captain departed, the 31-year-old got defensive and played eight dot balls before losing his wicket to Jasprit Bumrah for 49 runs.
By the time this story was filed, the home side was on top with 129-2 in just 20 overs, looking to chase the easy 191-run target in minimum overs to improve their net run rate.
It must be noted that the arch-rivals have crossed paths seven times in the ICC World Cup and the Green Shirts' record isn't something they would like to talk about as they have lost seven out of seven matches against the Blues.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
