A tactically superior Pakistan caught India completely off-guard with a Mohammed Nawaz punt as they exacted sweet revenge with a five-wicket victory in an exciting Super 4 game of the Asia Cup on Sunday.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said he had predicted that Pakistan will ruthlessly’ trounce India.
“Meine Indians ko bhi kaha, bahut sare doosto ko bhi kaha tha ki itna khush hone ki zaruurat nahi hai, Pakistan will make a strong comeback, meine video mein bhi bola tha Pakistan ruthelessly marage Hindustan ko. (I told the Indians and my friends that do not get too happy as Pakistan will make a strong comeback and I had said in an earlier video that Pakistan will ruthlessly trounce India),” Akhtar said while discussing the match on his YouTube channel.
Akhtar added that India should not lose heart, but questioned India’s selection policy for the Pakistan match. “India should decide what should be their final XI. Who is your future – is it Rishah Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hood or Ravi Bishnoi. Find you final XI at least first, because, this is a confused selection from India and I don’t know why is there so much confusion,” he said.
Chasing a tough target of 182, the ever dependable Mohammed Rizwan (71 off 51 balls) anchored the Pakistan innings but it was left-handed batter Nawaz, known more for his orthodox left-arm spin, who played the decisive knock of the match.
His 42 off 20 balls was something that India didn't factor in and there was no gameplan for him as Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ali completed a deserving victory with a ball to spare.
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