IND vs PAK | Starting with Jasprit Bumrah might have turned things around a bit, opines Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan has said that India should have brought in Jasprit Bumrah straighaway after managing to put just 151 runs on the board against Pakistan in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. In the match, Bumrah bowled only three overs after being introduced in the third over.
Virat Kohli opted to open with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Mohammad Shami got the second over. Pakistan openers Babar Azam (68*) and Mohammad Rizwan (79*) attacked from the very first over and ended the match with as many as 13 balls to spare.
Following India's 10-wicket defeat, former pacer Zaheer Khan has opined that India's should have used their "trum card" Jasprit Bumrah early.
“You have your plans before the game, but once you are in the game, you’ve just got to go with it - maybe change certain things that you had planned. Maybe you could have used Bumrah differently. By the time the game finished, you had under-utilised Bumrah.
“They could have gone for their trump card right up front rather than getting him into the game in the third over. Starting with him might have turned things around a bit," Zaheer Khan told Cricbuzz.
"But these are things in hindsight. At times, you stick to the strategy which you have made. I am sure the think-tank in the innings break would have thought about it and chosen otherwise. But who would have expected that the two openers would just carry the innings through, " he added.
Further, Zaheer Khan reckoned that dew factor did play a role but credited Pakistan for the pressure they put on India to win their first-ever T20 World Cup match against the arch-rivals.
“The dew factor did play a role. Having said that, when you know that dew is going to be a factor, you've got to have that extra cushion of 20-25 runs on the board, just to stay on top of things.
"But today wasn’t the case. Right throughout the game, you saw Pakistan in control of the game. They showed the intent, and India was always trying to catch up in this particular game, which was pretty evident.”
After being asked to bat first, Rohit departed for a golden duck in the first over after a brilliant yorker from Shaheen Afridi. The pacer returned in his second over to send KL Rahul packing and later Suryakumar Yadav was also undone cheaply by Hasan Ali. India managed 151 courtesy fighting knocks from Kohli (57) and Rishabh Pant (39), however, that did not prove enough as Pakistan gunned down the target with 10 wickets and 13 balls remaining.
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