Questions galore after India’s defeat to Pakistan

By K.R. Nayar

Dubai.  Questions are plenty after favourites India got a ten-wicket drubbing at the hands of Pakistan. Indian fans had turned out in large numbers at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night hoping to celebrate yet another victory over Pakistan. 

This column was published in News Trail, a newly published daily  from Bangalore 

India has never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup match. In fact, many Pakistan fans here had admitted that the Indian batting was too strong for their team. So, at the end of the match when the giant scoreboard flashed ‘Pakistan win by 10 wickets’ it was unbelievable. Many would have thought it should have been the other way round and a few may have even pinched themselves wondering whether it was a bad dream.

While speaking to former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, who has played many splendid knocks against Pakistan in Sharjah, about India’s chances on the eve of the match, he'd said: “India is a very strong side when compared to Pakistan. However, in a T20 format, anything can happen. If you have two to three bad overs it can change the complexion of the game.”

This is exactly what happened when Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi produced that deadly opening spell. That turned the course of the match. An India-Pakistan match is all about how to handle pressure, and once the reputed openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were back in the pavilion with only six runs on board the pressure to overcome the setback mounted. When Suryakumar Yadav too followed, the pressure fell on the rest of the batsmen to prove that they are a mighty batting side. Except for Rishab Pant who stayed a while to provide support to Virat Kohli, the rest failed to rise to the challenge.

In cricket, it has been proved time and again that being strong on paper or one's past reputation plays very little role in a team’s victory. In limited-over cricket, what matters always is how one delivers his skill to his best on that day. Indians were not at their best and Pakistan was brilliant not only in bowling but in fielding too.

The next question is also how India was beaten so badly. A slender defeat would have been acceptable for the Indian fans. Towards the end, some Indians fans started pleading for at least one wicket. A ten-wicket defeat is a pill that Indians will find hard to swallow. Will the team be able to put this defeat behind them and go on to win the rest of the matches?

To keep winning needs huge mental strength as well as physical power. Most of the Indian players have been playing non-stop for months together and have been constantly in the bubble. If fatigue has not set in, then surely they are super humans.

In T20 format, a winning momentum matters a lot. For India to gain that momentum is tougher after a crushing defeat in the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan. 

A score of 151 is something that India could have defended despite the dew. All their bowlers have been playing in the Indian Premier League here for that last one month. Despite that, they failed to deliver before the skill of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and a stubborn knock from Mohammad Rizwan.

India played to maintain their reputation and Pakistan played to regain it.  In the end, Pakistan walked off with their heads high making a loud statement that they are a team never to be written off.