India lost to Pakistan and the reasons are plenty, aren't they? Today, Cricwizz will emphasize the 5 key reasons for India's loss against Pakistan in their opening encounter of the T20 WC 2021.
1) Reason involving Team selection
Against Pakistan, India's biggest adversary in cricket, it was quite astounding to see India going ahead with three fast bowlers, with the third pacer not being Shardul Thakur.
Thakur had a brilliant IPL 2021 and his knack of picking wickets whenever he came to bowl would've surely caused Pakistan problems. The fact that his batting had improved massively, he would've also been useful in the death overs while batting.
Imagine Shardul Thakur batting in the last over instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India could've induced more pressure on the Men in Green, isn't it? Just the first reason, there are more!
2) Tactical Reason
As Virat Kohli said after losing the toss, "As a team, we've got to be prepared for every situation you are put in." However, India failed to express the mentality when they came out to bowl.
As opposed to that, Pakistan bowled brilliantly. They barely shifted away from the stump line and the result was that they struck early. This reason turned out to be very lethal for India as the Men in Green won the match without any trouble. As many experts of the game said, losing the game wasn't a problem but the fact that India couldn't pick a single wicket showed how unprepared they were tactical.
3) Reason of responsibility
When you put out your 11 to play a match, you expect that every player would at least make the best effort to perform with responsibility.
After India's opening pair departed, Suryakumar Yadav had the responsibility to keep the scoreboard ticking. But he was dismissed and the reason for his dismissal was a result of a bizarre shot selection. India's no.4 batsman in the T20 WC has certain responsibilities and the oppurtunity can not be taken for granted.
After battling with injuries, Hardik Pandya, despite poor form, was backed to play the role of a finisher in the lower middle-order. But Pandya failed to own up to his responsibility as a finisher and couldn't deliver again. The fact he was seen struggling with his shoulder shows that his future in the squad is under threat.
This may sound harsh and may seem very reactive, but if you're picked in the 11 as a specialist spinner who cannot bat, in a game against Pakistan when under pressure, you can't see Varun Chakravarthy bowling short deliveries to set batsmen. We may be wrong and Chakravarthy may come on top in the next game but that will be possible only when the reason for responsibility is overcome.
4) Reason questioning approach
Very similar to the tactical one, in a high-profile game like against Pakistan, you had to be prepared for the challenges that were ahead.
Remember the last time the Indian batsman struggled to score runs? It was the semi-final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup against New Zealand and once again, it was a left-arm fast bowler who caused them concerns.
After Trent Boult, Shaheen Afridi became an identical example of India repeating the same mistake against left-armers, they committed a couple of years ago. Weren't they aware of the threat? They were but the reason could be the lack of intent by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
However, the game also witnessed the Indian skipper rectifying his past mistakes as his approach was spot on and he read the conditions very well as we saw him coming down the track to negotiate the swing of the 21-year old which both the openers failed to do.
5) Reason beyond the control
Well, yes it has never been under Kohli's control. The toss. IPL was a shred of evidence that the Dubai pitch was a better pitch to bat on in the second innings and with the dew factor in play, things only went from bad to worse.
Pakistan were wary of the conditions and made the most of them. India did all they could do by posting 151 but they needed early wickets, something that would enable them to have things under control.
Looking at India's record against New Zealand in the T20 World Cups, what do you think? Can India bounce back? What are your thoughts about Pakistan's future in the tournament?
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