T20 World Cup 2022: The Indian team, which defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets in the first match, defeated the Netherlands by 56 runs in the second match. India has won both of its encounters so far in the T20 World Cup 2022. The T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 stage has already witnessed a lot of twists and turns and there is no dearth of drama in the campaign so far. Rain has spoiled the game on several occasions. However, this did not affect the India-Pakistan game at the MCG, which was in danger of being washed out. Fans were expecting a thrilling encounter and there was more in stock for them.
India’s first match was against Pakistan where, batting first, after Rohit Sharma opted to bowl, Pakistan scored a total of 159 for 8 in their 20 overs and India chased down the score on the last ball with a mindboggling performance by Virat Kohli under immense pressure. The star batsman remained unbeaten on 82 off 53 balls as India posted a scintillating 113-run partnership with Hardik Pandya at 31 for 4. 16 runs were needed in the last over and the game was in Pakistan’s hands until India snatched it.
(Read the full article: India VS Pakistan 2022: a review.)
India won their next match comfortably against the Netherlands, while Pakistan could not recover from a loss to the men in blue and suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe. After two defeats, their chances of reaching the semi-finals seem slim at the moment.
(Read more: Clinical India tops the Group 2 table with a massive 56-run win)
Shoaib Akhtar made bold predictions for India
Meanwhile, despite India currently leading their group, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has predicted that both India and Pakistan do not have the goods to go beyond the semi-finals. He said the present Indian side would return home with Pakistan saying that “They too are nothing like Tees Maar Khan”.
Shoaib Akhtar on his YouTube channel, said: “I had said earlier also, Pakistan will be back soon. And India will also be back next week. India will also be back after the semi-final game. they are also no such Tees Maar Khan.” (“Main pehle bhi keh chuka tha, Pakistan is hafte wapas aa jaegi. Aur agle hafte India wapas aa jaegi. Woh bhi semi-final khel ke wapas aa jaegi. Woh bhi koi itne Tees Maar Khan nahi hai“)
Akhtar also slammed Babar Azam for his captaincy skills in a video on his YouTube channel and termed him a ‘poor captain’. He feels that Babar needs to bat at number three instead of opening after his disappointing performance in the tournament so far.
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: What Went Wrong for Pakistan Cricket Team? An In-Depth Analysis.