IND vs PAK | Manner in which Pakistan won, people will stand up and take notice, says Ashish Nehra

10/25/2021

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra believes that Pakistan have made people take notice of their game with the 10-wicket victory against India in the Super 12 fixture on Sunday in Dubai. Nehra further added that Pakistan have proved that they are strong contenders to reach the semi-finals.

India locked horns with Pakistan on Sunday in their opening fixture, and the Babar Azam-led side scripted a historic 10-wicket win over India. Pakistan displayed an all-round performance, and registered their first victory against the Men in Blue India in World Cups. Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan played pivotal roles in registering thier first T20 World Cup victory against the arch-rivals.

Sharing his views on the clash between the neighbours, former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra has said that the manner in which Pakistan won is brilliant, and people will stand up and take notice.

"Those who weren’t already considering them favourites to reach the semi-finals were underestimating Pakistan. And you are talking about T20s. In their pool, there are three strong teams India, Pakistan, and New Zealand. But in the T20s, anyone can beat anyone. The manner in which Pakistan won, people will stand up and take notice," Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

The target of 152, seemed like a cakewalk for the Pakistan openers, and they started off well for their side. The dew factor in the match ensured that there was no assistance for the bowlers in the second innings. Mohammad Rizwan anchored the innings with his unbeaten knock of 79 runs from 55 balls, whereas Babar Azam Babar finished 68* off 52 to help the 2009 T20 World Cup champions begin their 2021 campaign with a dominant 10-wicket win. With this win, Pakistan are placed at the top of the points table with a healthy run rate of +0.973.

Speaking on the performance of the Indian bowlers in the match, Nehra said that it was a very difficlut task for the Virat Kohli-led side to scalp wickets as the dew factor was in favour of the batsmen in the second innings. He further added that Babar and Rizwan played a risk-free shots against India.

"No, not at all. The ball had also gotten a little wet because of the dew. And the way Pakistan started, it filled them with confidence and both of them batted very cleanly. I just remember one incident when Mohammad Rizwan played a sweep shot off Varun Chakravarthy and it went for a six that was the only shot where it felt like the batter has taken a risk. Other than that, they played risk-free batting. And with the dew factor and the pitch got better to bat on, they took full advantage of that. So you just have to praise the way Pakistan played today," Nehra remarked.

Virat Kohli scored a crucial half-century in the first innings to guide India to 151/7. Defending the target, Kohli opened the bowling with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and then the second over was bowled by Mohammed Shami. The defeat against Pakistan opened doors to fuming debates among fans and experts regarding Kohli's tactics in the match. Former India cricketer Zaheer Khan has said that going with Jasprit Bumrah in the initial over would have been a more beneficial move by Kohli. Speaking on Kohli's tactics against Pakistan, Nehra has opined that the India captain could have given two consecutive overs to Mohammed Shami in the powerplay.

"About Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the only thing I would say is he could have played Mohammed Shami for two consecutive overs (in the Powerplay), but it is also not easy for the captain because there were no wickets in the first three overs, so he tried Varun Chakravarthy also who can be an X-factor, but he went back to Shami and then gave the sixth over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But basically, Pakistan did not give India a chance. From their bowling to their fielding, to their batting, they played a 10/10 match and dominated," Nehra added.

Pakistan will next face New Zealand on Tuesday, October 26 in Sharjah.