Kolkata: Defending champions India played clinical cricket to thrash arch-rivals Pakistan by 124 runs in a highly anticipated clash which turned out to be a one-sided affair at the end. The huge win not only propelled the team to the top of their group, but also sent a strong message to all the teams in the competition.
However, on the other side of the story, Pakistan produced a sorry performance on the field with none of their batsmen barring Azhar Ali showing responsibility and maturity to chase down the total. This has left many displeased and Pakistani all-rounder Imran Khan is one of them. Taking to Twitter to express his disappointment, he said,
“As a sportsman I know winning & losing are part of the game but it’s painful to watch Pak being thrashed by India without putting up a fight.”
He then called for a change in the entire structure of Pakistani cricket, despite them having talented cricketers. “Unless Pak cricket structure is totally revamped/reformed, despite an abundance of talent the gap between Pak & India will keep increasing” tweeted the former iconic Pakistani star.
He also went on to take a dig at the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Shahryar Khan, who he believes hasn’t been appointed on professional merit.
Tweeted the cricketer turned politician, “Pak cricket cannot be fixed if the Chairman of the PCB is not appointed on professional merit.”
However not only Khan but another former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi revealed the harsh truth about the one sided game saying, “The gap between Indian and Pakistani teams is bigger than ever. India has evolved and we are way behind now,”
He too like Imran Khan called for a change but in the overall mindset and approach.
The win left Virat Kohli and co ecstatic as the only thing the Indians would look to improve is the fielding, which had seriously gone wrong despite some moments of brilliance by Ravindra Jadeja.
Hardik Pandya, played a cameo of 20 runs towards the end of just six balls and later returned with the ball to dismiss captain Sarfraz Ahmed and all-rounder Imad Wasim.
“With the bat and the ball we were right up there, 9 out of 10. In the field we were 6 out of 10. If we tune that up to 8 or 9, we will be a very strong side in the tournament. I think this was a very complete performance starting the tournament” said a happy Virat Kohli at the post-match presentation.