Asia Cup | Pakistan was not playing to win against India, believes Harbhajan Singh

09/25/2018

After India convincingly defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in two games in the ongoing Asia Cup, Harbhajan Singh has stated that Pakistan was playing cricket with no intention of actually winning. He further added that it is tough to compete with the Indian team with the kind of form they have shown.

The Indian team has already defeated the Pakistani side twice in the Asia Cup so far and both of them have been very comprehensive wins for the Indian side against their neighbours. India won the first game in the group stage by eight wickets while in the super four clash, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored hundreds and India registered a nine-wicket win with more than 10 overs remaining. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has praised Rohit Sharma and his team for remaining unbeaten in the tournament.

"There's a big difference between these two teams. This Pakistani team doesn't have it in them to compete with the Indian team. They were only playing the game but not to win. India are the No.1 contender to win the Asia Cup. India remain the favourites," Harbhajan told India Today.

The skipper scored 111* off 119 balls in the second game while Dhawan also got to his 15th hundred, 114 runs from 100 deliveries, before getting out. They also added 210 runs and at a point of time were cruising ahead to registering a 10-wicket win over Pakistan.

"Rohit is a class apart. Shikhar is a very talented batsman. The kind of bowling attack we have it's tough to compete against us. India have the experience...MS Dhoni, Rohit, Dhawan, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar and even Ambati Rayudu," the former off-spinner said.

"In Pakistan, barring Shoaib Malik there's no other player who has this kind of exposure. That is the difference between the two teams."