Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s heavy 61-run loss to India has put their T20 World Cup campaign in danger, and they could be knocked out depending on the upcoming results in Group A. India have already qualified for the Super Eights with three wins from three matches, while Pakistan sit third with two wins and one loss.
The USA’s win over Namibia has further tightened the race, making the final group matches crucial for Pakistan’s survival in the tournament. At this moment, USA and Pakistan have the same number of points (4). However, thanks to having a better net run rate, USA, who have already finished all their group-stage matches, find themselves in the second position on the points table. Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson admitted the defeat was hard on the players, saying, “There’s a pretty disappointed dressing room in there at the moment, because they know how much it means to Pakistan.” He added that despite recent winning form, India were simply better on the day. “We know that it’s a huge event, Pakistan against India. We obviously won five games on the bounce before today so we were confident, but today we got outplayed,” he added.India posted 175-7 thanks to Ishan Kishan’s 77, with support from Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube. Pakistan collapsed early to 13-3 and were bowled out for 114, with Usman Khan top-scoring with 44. Hesson defended the decision to bowl first, saying, “I think the ball was spinning quite a lot initially and we started off well but I think the way Kishan played, he took the game away from us.”Now Pakistan must beat Namibia on Wednesday in their final group match to stay alive. If they lose, they will be eliminated. If the match is washed out by rain, both teams will share points, and Pakistan will qualify for the Super 8s.Hesson urged the team to recover quickly, saying, “We have to pick ourselves up and make sure that we’re very good in two or three days.” He added confidence remains, stating, “We have played some good cricket in the lead-up to this World Cup, so we’re confident to do well in the tournament.”
