Key takeaways from Pakistan’s crushing defeat against India

Pointing out the exact moment where Pakistan lost the game by a crushing 61-run margin would not be easy. In fact, it would be unfair to put the onus of a shoddy show across the department on just one fleeting moment.

Pakistan were bad with the ball. They were somewhat sloppy in the field, though one could make a case that it was an uncharacteristically good day for Pakistan there. And to top it all off, they put forth a horrible batting display.

Pakistan had two bad powerplays

It is said that powerplays make or break a game. For Pakistan, both powerplays only broke their chances. During India’s batting, Pakistan could not choke the run flow, and the momentum they gained with Salman Ali Agha’s first-over wicket was mercilessly smashed to smithereens jointly by Ishan Kishan and the bowling decisions.

Taking nothing away from Kishan’s brilliance, the run rate could have been brought down with better decisions during the power play. For one, introducing pace bowling when spin seemed to be doing well was not Salman’s wisest decision.

During Pakistan's batting, the scenario was flipped entirely. Pakistan kept losing the wickets as the batters returned with low returns.

Let down by senior bowlers and captaincy decisions

Salman still had two overs left at the innings break, which is baffling, noting the fact that Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen were handed the ball again after conceding heavily earlier.

Pakistan were also let down by their senior bowlers, including Shaheen, Shadab Khan, and Abrar Ahmed. Their Indian counterparts were far more effective, which says a lot about how much aid the pitch had for bowlers.

Batters playing unfathomable shots

Last, and probably not least, Pakistan’s batters folded quicker than they would have against any other team. Sahibzada Farhan, Agha Salman, and Babar Azam let the pressure creep up on them and played questionable shots on their way out. A 175-run target would not have been a walk in the park anyway, but they would have given themselves a better chance had the batters shown more responsibility.

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