NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram on Monday criticized Babar Azam’s team for their meek surrender to India in a low-scoring, high-octane ICC T20 World Cup 2024 clash at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday.
India, led by Rohit Sharma, defeated Pakistan by six runs in a tense encounter, propelling India to the top of Group A. Pakistan, having won the toss and elected to bowl first, saw Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf pick up three wickets each. Despite these efforts, Rishabh Pant’s quick 42 helped India post a total of 119 before being bowled out.
In response, Mohammad Rizwan’s patient 31 set the stage for Pakistan’s chase, but they faltered, losing wickets regularly and managing only 113/7 in 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah’s crucial dismissals, with figures of 3-14, played a pivotal role in India’s victory.
With this win, India tops Group A with two wins in two matches, while Pakistan remains at zero points after two defeats, having previously been upset by the hosts, the United States, in their opening game.
Criticizing the team’s poor performance, Akram said, “Pakistan doesn’t need an enemy, they have plenty themselves. Now should we put a pacifier in their mouths? Now we have to explain to them what situational awareness is? Babar will explain, the coach will explain.”
“These batsmen have been playing for the last 8-10 years. Now should I tell Rizwan that the main bowler has come for one over, to take a wicket? You didn’t hit a boundary after 10 overs. Didn’t even try. So even 120 couldn’t be chased,” he added.
“It has started to become embarrassing. As a Pakistani, I want to back the Pakistan team, but there’s a limit to everything,” Akram said while slamming the team.
Pakistan now needs to beat Canada and Ireland by a significant margin to improve their net run rate. Their qualification hopes also hinge on India winning their next two games against the USA and Canada, and the USA losing their remaining matches.
