3 learnings for India from the last India-Pakistan match in T20 World Cup 2021.
T20 World Cup 2021: The last night defeat of India against Pakistan in their opening fixture of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 has raised several million eyebrows and kept many on their toes. Despite being so potent and capable, India crumbled against Pakistan in Dubai International Stadium and Pakistan registered their first-ever win against India in the history of the World Cups.
The powerplay jolt of Shaheen Shah Afridi to get rid of Rohit Sharma (0) and KL Rahul (3) set the tone for the rest of the match as India could only do was catching-up until the final over. Virat Kohli (57) and Rishabh Pant (39) did some rescue work to get India out of the uncomfortable situation, but that effort went in vain as India posted a modest total of 151 runs.
However, if we see the result with a much broader perspective, India’s defeat against Pakistan in its opening game could be a blessing in disguise for the Men in Blues. The article will take you through the 3 learnings for India from the India-Pakistan match.
3 Positives for India from the last India-Pakistan match:
Need of Sixth Bowling option:
Team India went away in its first T20 World Cup 2021 match against Pakistan without any genuine sixth bowling option. All-rounder Hardik Pandya was included in the match, but he was given a run just as a proper batter. India through the middle overs felt the need for a sixth bowler, who could just come and slip in a couple of overs to reduce the pressure off the death.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav can try to chip in somewhere and deliver a few balls, however, the need for the sixth bowler will still be there as these three aforementioned can’t bowl in an intense match similar to the last one.
Shardul Thakur can be brought into the playing11 for his services with the ball and bat. Though he isn’t a fancy batter and doesn’t have anything similar in his batting to sideline Hardik, but the need of the hour is to field six bowlers. Thakur can provide the cushion to the bowling unit and can at times whack bowlers.
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Over dependency on Top Order:
For a long time, India has never seen such cases when the openers failed to get off India to a flying starts. At least one opener has remained back in the middle to take the Indian innings further, however, the match last night had a completely different scenario.
Pakistan brutally exposed the Indian middle order. The Men in Blue wanted one X-Factor player who could come and play some blistering slogs to power the team, however, that were just hopes that never turned into reality. Rishabh Pant tried to play a heroic inning but was soon dismissed as he decided to take charge.
Virat was looking good, but his innings never took off, although he played a sensational knock to bring back India to some competition.
Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja misfired in the match. No one could step up and the consequences of that were seen when Pakistan easily breached the Indian total.
The Indian middle-order needs to make sure to provide balanced support during the top-order failure. Everyone knows that such circumstances will not come any time soon, however, the players need to confirm that if that situation arises again, they should be able to soak in the pressure of early wickets and perform well to rescue the team.
Early reality check:
The Men in Blues may have lost the match, but the tournament is still on and will remain on until its last match. It is just the beginning and the loss will prove to be a stern reality check to the team to assess the areas of concern to come up with better planning, strategy and mindset.
India has often started off with a winning run in the ICC tournaments, however, during the knockout stages, the side bows down. The recent ICC World Test Championship and 2019 ODI World Cup are prime examples of how India got off to a flying start and went down in the crucial matches.
This time around, India has been forced by the Pakistani’s to realise what went against them and work on the loopholes.
There are still four matches to come up for India. The next match is against New Zealand on 31st October. There is a big gap in between and the team can concentrate on the areas of weakness and overcome that.
Team India is still the favourites to win the T20 World Cup regardless of the loss against Pakistan. The side has done several greater comebacks in the past and will be eager to do one this time as well.
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