Following India’s defeat and a batting collapse against South Africa, former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has opened up on Rohit Sharma & Co.’s ordinary performance in Perth.
Speaking on his official Youtube channel, Akhtar said that Team India has left many fans in Pakistan disappointed. He also rued that now the Men in Green’s qualification for the semi-finals is almost impossible.
“India ne marva diya hume. In fact, we punished ourselves because we played very badly,” reckoned Akhtar.
He added: “I was wishing and hoping India will come strong and hard. (But) It goes to show when quality bowling is against teams, especially the subcontinent ones, they get exposed.”
Akhtar further stated that if the Men in Blue had batted patiently against the Proteas’ seamers, they would have scored a good total. “India left us very disappointed. If India’s batters could have had some patience and not got out, 150 would have been a winning total but India disappointed us. India has been exposed in front of South African fast bowling but they are not out of the tournament. We have to face difficult matches and our chances are very limited now,” the Rawalpindi Express concluded.
Lungi Ngidi (4/29) was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa as he dismissed the top three Indian batters, including in form Virat Kohli. For India, Suryakumar Yadav played a spectacular knock of 68 and guided them to 133-9.
In reply, David Miller (59 not out) and Aiden Markram (52) both hit half-centuries to lead South Africa to a five-wicket win with two balls to spare.
India will next face Bangladesh in their Super 12 fixture at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday (November 2), while Pakistan will lock horns with the table-toppers of Group 2, South Africa, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday (November 3).
