In their devastating defeat to New Zealand in Match 26 of the T20 World Cup 2021. India’s gameplan perplexed former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar. Virat Kohli’s men were chastised by Akhtar for their attitude and thinking in the crucial encounter against the Kiwis.
India was expected to put runs on the board in the first innings. After losing the toss for the second time. In Dubai, though, the Men in Blue scored just 110 runs in the first innings due to another failure by the top order batters.
Kane Williamson
The Kiwi hitters cruised to an easy eight-wicket victory thanks to a very average score and a poor bowling performance by the Indian bowlers. Kane Williamson’s side prevailed by eight wickets and gained two critical points in the process, allowing them to climb the table.
“I don’t know with what mindset and attitude they were playing. Why did Rohit bat at 3, why did they open with Ishan Kishan? Hardik Pandya, bowling pretty late in the innings, should’ve bowled earlier. I have no idea whatsoever about India’s gameplan. It was a completely lost Indian squad.” Akhtar said
Further on the matter, Akhtar chastised India for their “ordinary” performance the day before (October 31). According to the former Pakistani cricketer, the Indian team would suffer because to the huge pressure placed on the team by the Indian media.
“It never seemed as if India turned up for this game or not. Average performance by team India. After all the hype and pressure from the Indian media, I knew that the team would struggle. Again, the team proved to be a weak bowling side,” said Akhtar.
A few days before India’s match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. The former cricketer-turned-expert issued a warning to the Indian team. India, according to Akhtar, will be in serious trouble if it does not intervene against Afghanistan.
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