"Pakistan should have bowled India out inside 40 overs itself" - Shoaib Akhtar on the absence of seam bowling in the middle overs
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar criticized Babar Azam and company for letting India get away from a perilous situation of 66-4 during their 2023 Asia Cup encounter on Saturday. No result was obtained after rain forced the contest at the Pallekele International Stadium to be washed out after the end of the first innings.
The Pakistani seam bowlers once again reigned supreme over the Indian top order with the new ball. They had India reeling at 66-4 at one point, but a massive 138-run partnership between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya leveled things up.
Akhtar opined that Pakistan should not have taken seam off the attack entirely in the middle overs.
"Again, I had high expectations from Virat Kohli, but he could not do anything. Pakistan fast bowling has done wonders. Pakistan should have continued with pacers with short two-over spells from one end and operate spin from only one end. Pakistan should have bowled India out inside 40 overs itself. Pakistan should have capitalized after reducing India to 66-4," he said on his YouTube channel.
Pakistan did make a comeback in the final overs of the innings and bowled out India for 266 with seven balls to spare. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of the bowlers after claiming four wickets. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah also picked up three wickets apiece.
"Hats off to Ishan Kishan" - Shoaib Akhtar
In the absence of KL Rahul, the No. 5 position was handed over to Ishan Kishan. The wicketkeeper-batter had a huge responsibility while playing in an unfamiliar position against a formidable bowling unit.
He played with composure to score 82 runs off 81 deliveries to rescue India from a state of peril. Shoaib Akhtar praised Kishan for his knock and stated:
"Hats off to Ishan Kishan, very sensible innings. I mean this guy is really smart. Him and Hardik Pandya can play all kinds of shots, but they played run-a-ball. The running between the wickets was good as well. The conversion from singles to doubles was also very good."
Hardik Pandya was the top-scorer for India with 87 runs off 90 deliveries. Lower-order batters Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur could not make an impact, but India were boosted by a short cameo by Jasprit Bumrah towards the end.