Former England spinner Graeme Swann has opined that India’s humiliating 10-wicket loss against Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2021 might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the ‘Men in Blue’. Swann reckoned that such loss at the start of the tournament often worked as a ‘wake up call’ for teams.
“Sometimes it’s good to get hammered at the start of the tournament because it feels like a real kick at the backside. The IPL being played just now, everyone saying India are the favourites, a bit of lethargy can creep into a team. Maybe India will find their edge because of this defeat,” Swann told cricket.com.
The former English cricketer observed that chasing a target in the shortest format is an easy task as compared to batting first, which India had to do after losing the toss in Dubai on Sunday. India had a terrible start, as they lost both openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul quite early in the innings. Swann felt those early blows won the game for Pakistan.
“When you chase a total in T20s, it’s five times easier. You know when to take risks, and you can pace your innings accordingly. They didn’t have to take any risk. Those two early wickets of Rohit and Rahul, let’s just face it, those two were unbelievable deliveries. Swinging in at more than 90 mph, pitching on off stump and hitting the top of the middle. That was almost an unplayable delivery, and then Rohit to face that yorker on the first delivery. That won the game for Pakistan,” added Swann.
India’s ship was steadied by Virat Kohli (49-ball 57) and Rishabh Pant (30-ball 39), and the duo took India to 151/7. In reply, Pakistan rode on the unbeaten half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan (55-ball 79) and Babar Azam (52-ball 68) to win the contest by 10 wickets.
