'Clearly Pakistan Did Not..': Sunil Gavaskar Lashes Out At Babar Azam & Co.

image-lnsqsx78Pakistan failed to defend 191 runs against India [AP Photo]

Wins and losses are part of any sport, but what fans want is a scrabble in the middle and not a one-sided affair. 

On Saturday, however, the much-hyped India-Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 affair witnessed Rohit Sharma-XI thump past Babar Azam and Co. with absolute ease. A jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium celebrated India's seven-wicket win over arch-rivals after chasing down 192 runs with Rohit Sharma mastering an easy chase. 

On a benign pitch, Indian pacers claimed six wickets between them and rocked Pakistan batters, which surprised one-and-all.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has highlighted Pakistan bowlers including pacer Shaheen Afridi's inability to adapt and learn seeing Indian bowlers as one reason behind their loss. 

Afridi, known for cinching wickets upfront with swing bowling, has been a flop so far, managing only four wickets in three matches. 

As quoted by NDTV, Gavaskar explained that Azam and Co. did not learn from Jasprit Bumrah's use of the tactic during his spell, and dished out a similar strategy during India's chase. 


Here's what Gavaskar said

"Clearly Pakistan did not learn anything because it was only towards the end when Shaheen bowled that cutter that got Rohit out. We would have thought that they would bowl the cutter even with the new ball. It is not written anywhere that the new ball has to be bowled at a certain pace. You can change it, but nothing of those sorts was seen from the Pakistan bowlers." 

Pakistan will face Australia in their next match on October 20 at M.Chinnaswammy Stadium. Meanwhile, the Indians will next be at loggerheads with Bangladesh at MCA Stadium, Pune on Thursday.