“They tried their best to lose this game” – Shoaib Akhtar slams Pakistan for six-run defeat to India in 2024 T20 World Cup clash

Former Pakistan gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar slammed the Babar Azam-led team after their six-run loss against arch-rivals India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Sunday. Akhtar reckons Pakistan have themselves to blame for their heart-breaking loss against India.

The Men in Green was in a shoo-in position as they were 57-1 after 10 overs while chasing 120. Thus, Pakistan had wickets in hand but veered off the track in the second half of the run-chase.

The Babar-led team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and also played a lot of dot balls, which put them under the cosh. 

“I think we should give credit to Pakistan. They tried their best to lose this game. I could not think any other way. If you look at Pakistan’s middle-order and the whole batting order, it was just run-a-ball. Nobody asked you to hit, go across the line, do anything stupid. But, we made sure the match that could have been won easily by us. We refused to win it. Shocking, surprising,” Akhtar said on PTV Sports.

On the other hand, former Pakistan captain Younis Khan slammed the openers – Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan – for their mundane batting. Rizwan scored 31 runs off 44 balls but could not take his team over the line despite being settled.

“For me, one of the batters must stay and finish the job. Rizwan had the chance to finish it but unfortunately, he couldn’t finish it. When you’re chasing, we have seen one batter play in the end. We always say Babar and Rizwan should improve. What’s that improvement? We keep on saying, what they need to differently. When you look at Virat Kohli or someone like Jos Buttler, when they play a long innings, they finish the game,” stated Younis.

Former Pakistan batter and coach Mohammad Hafeez reckons the team has a mental block while facing India on the big stage.

“India vs Pakistan isn’t a game about skills. The match is won with the mindset. Pakistan have a mental block. Even during my time, we lost to India not because of lack of skills, but due to the mentality. We talked about Naseem Shah’s mindset. Why did our normal batters not show the same mindset?” said Hafeez.

Pakistan will next take on Canada at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Tuesday.