Former Pakistani fast bowler and cricket analyst Shoaib Akhtar expressedhis disappointment on Saturday regarding the lackluster performance of thePakistani cricket team, often referred to as the “Men in Green,” in theirWorld Cup 2023 match against India.
Pakistan’s batting order collapsed, and they were bowled out for a mere191 runs after their skipper, Babar Azam, who played an admirablehalf-century, was dismissed.
This match took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, one of themost highly anticipated cricket contests. India had won the toss and choseto have Pakistan bat first, a decision that Shoaib Akhtar considered unwisegiven the perception that the pitch was favorable for high scores.
However, Akhtar’s assessment was proven incorrect as Pakistan’s entirebatting lineup struggled, and they were limited to just 191 runs. Inresponse to this disappointing performance, the former fast bowler referredto it as a “missed opportunity on a pitch that favored batting.”
He shared a video on the microblogging platform X, where he expressed hisdisappointment in Pakistan’s inability to capitalize on the excellentconditions, stating, “Yes. So you have seen the match, what a beautifulwicket it was, what a great platform all of them got, but Pakistan couldn’tcapitalize. Pakistan didn’t have that talent to score big and capitalize onthe situation, very disheartening to see Pakistan losing on a very goodtrack.”
Akhtar questioned why the Pakistani batters used a cross-footed techniquewhen the ball wasn’t swinging much. He commended Rohit Sharma, the captainof the Indian team, for his leadership and effective use of bowlers.
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Later, Shoaib Akhtar wrote on X that Pakistan lacked the “fire” requiredto silence such a massive crowd at the world’s largest cricket stadium,stating, “To silence 150,000 people singlehandedly requires the fire. Thisis only possible when you have that fire inside you.”
The Pakistani team’s innings briefly revived when skipper Babar Azam andMohammed Rizwan came to the crease. They put on 82 runs for the thirdwicket, rebuilding the innings.
However, Babar was dismissed soon after reaching his half-century. Pakistanreached 157-3 in 31 overs, but after that, the team’s performance declined,with only Hasan Ali managing to score in double digits.
Consequently, Pakistan could only set a target of 192 runs for India, andit is expected that the Indian team, often referred to as the “Men InBlue,” will comfortably chase this target.