The start of India’s opening T20 World Cup game against Pakistan was not the best one. After losing the toss, Virat Kohli-led India was asked to bat first on a tricky batting surface by Pakistan captain Babar Azam. To make matters worse, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Rohit Sharma for a golden duck, and soon after, sent back in-form opener KL Rahul to the hut.
Virat Kohli’s Statement Of Falling Behind Against Pakistan After Losing 2 Scalps Disappointed Ajay Jadeja
India captain Virat Kohli played a crucial knock of 57 runs after coming to bat at no. 3, as wickets continued to fall on the other end. Virat Kohli, though, helped his team to a total of 151/7 in 20 overs. But in the end, the target of 152 was not enough as Pakistan openers Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam scored 79*, and 68*, respectively, to win the match for their team by 10 wickets with 13 balls to spare.
At the post-match press conference, Virat Kohli lauded the efforts by Pakistan and admitted that his team was outplayed by the arch-rivals. But one of Virat Kohli’s remarks did not go down with former India player Ajay Jadeja, who confessed he was disappointed to hear Virat Kohli say such a thing.
“I heard Virat Kohli’s statement that day. He said when we lost two wickets, we fell behind in the match against Pakistan. I was disappointed with that,” Ajay Jadeja said.
“When a player like Virat Kohli is out there in the middle, there is no way the match has ended. He had not played even two balls and was thinking like that. So, it shows India’s approach,” Ajay Jadeja further added.
India will next play against New Zealand on Sunday and Virat Kohli will hope his team can bounce back from the horrendous defeat to pick up their first win of the tournament.
India Was Reduced To 31/3 Against Pakistan And Never Recovered
India was reduced to 1/1 with Rohit Sharma’s golden duck, then 6/2 after KL Rahul’s dismissal, and then 31/3 with Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal, as Pakistan had the psychological edge. In the 2017 Champions Trophy final too, India had been reduced to 33/3, with Rohit Sharma falling for a three-ball duck to a similar vicious inswinger from Mohammad Amir. In the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, India was reduced to 5/3.
Sunday’s match between India and Pakistan was also the 10th time India lost 3 wickets inside the Powerplay since the last T20 WC in 2016. They have lost on seven of those occasions.