IND vs PAK 2022: "India and Pakistan both tried their best to lose the match" - Shoaib Akhtar far from pleased with the displays by both sides in Asia Cup encounter
Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar was vastly disappointed with yesterday's encounter between India and Pakistan at the 2022 Asia Cup on Sunday in Dubai. The Men in Blue won the thrilling contest with two balls to spare and claimed two crucial points.
Despite the thrills and spills during the highly-anticipated match, there were numerous flaws on display as well. Right from a slow over-rate to a timid batting approach, both teams were arguably guilty of not having a firm grip on the game for extended periods of time.
Voicing his displeasure with the decisions taken by both teams over the course of the match, Akhtar said on his YouTube channel:
"India and Pakistan both tried their best to lose the match. India were almost successful in doing that, but Pandya came through in the end."
"Now, if Rizwan plays 42 deliveries to score 43 runs, what else can happen? 19 dot balls in the powerplay for Pakistan. When you play these many dot balls, you are bound to fall into trouble," Akhtar added.
After being put into bat, Pakistan took a while to find their groove courtesy of some tight bowling by new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh. The Men In Green scored 43 runs in the powerplay with the loss of two wickets.
They eventually managed to post 147 runs on the board, which was easily chased down by India with five wickets in hand.
"The team selection was very poor by both teams" - Shoaib Akhtar
Selecting the playing XI was a tricky prospect for both sides. Following the return of KL Rahul, India were left with a huge decision in the middle-order between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik, and they decided to go with the latter.
In the absence of Shaheen Afridi, the Babar Azam-led side had to tweak their bowling a bit. Naseem Shah was handed his debut while Shahnawaz Dahani featured ahead of Hasan Ali.
Captain @ImRo45 has won the toss and we will bowl first against Pakistan.
A look at our Playing XI for the game.
Live - bit.ly/AsiaCup2022-IN… #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2022 https://t.co/O0HQXFQzC4
Addressing the woeful team selection and Babar Azam's batting position, Akhtar said:
"The team selection was very poor by both teams. India dropped Rishabh Pant while Pakistan included Ifthikar, that too at No.4. I have said this so many times that Babar Azam should not open the innings. He should come in at No.3 and anchor the innings till the end. Fakhar and Rizwan should open."
Naseem Shah made an impact straightaway, but the rest of the decisions contributed to Pakistan's downfall. The batting unit failed to fire with a special effort by the tail-enders, helping them get close to 150 in the first innings.
Did you agree with the team selection made by both teams yesterday? Let us know what you think.