Former Indian captain and iconic batter, Sunil Gavaskar was honest in his assessment of India’s disappointing loss to Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. Pakistan ended a 12-match losing record versus India in T20 and ODI World Cups with a huge 10-wicket victory to kick off their T20 World Cup journey with a flourish.
You’ve got to forget what has happened in this game: Gavaskar
During a post-game interview with Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar described the result as a “absolute hammering.” “Hopefully, India will pick themselves up quickly because that’s important. You’ve got to forget what has happened in this game and focus on the next few matches,” he added.
After just being placed in, India was limited to 151/7 on October 24. Early on, they were shaken by a furious Shaheen Afridi performance until Rishabh Pant (39 off 30) and Virat Kohli’s (57 off 49) half-century partnership brought them back to their powers.
Pakistan, on the other hand, fought back to limit them in the middle overs before their openers went for the mark on their own. Mohammad Rizwan hit an amazing 79 off 55 balls, while Babar Azam hit an unbroken 68 off 52 balls to help India bring down the goal with 2.1 overs to play and end their ICC World Cup curse. This would be the first time India has ever lost a T20I match by a 10-wicket scoreline.
In the T20s anyone can beat anyone: Ashish Nehra
Former India bowler Ashish Nehra believes that Pakistan’s decisive dominance has made people pay attention to those who previously ignored them.
“Those who weren’t already considering them favorites 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,” Ashish Nehra said.
