Pakistan’s cricket supporters were shocked and disappointed, leaving the R Premadasa Stadium following a sixty-one run loss to India in the T20 World Cup. A lot of them went home early as Pakistan went to 97 for 8 after 15.3 overs – and people’s reactions went from simply accepting what happened to strongly criticising the team’s leaders and who had been chosen to play. To a number of fans, the defeat didn’t feel surprising.
Fans show their sadness and tell it like it is
Fans readily said they thought India had been better. One fan stated, ‘We have no way to deal with Bumrah. We can’t play against Hardik. It’s always the same.’ The feeling was one of giving in, rather than being angry, and showed that more and more people felt Pakistan’s problems when playing India were to be expected.
What people were saying on social media made this worse. Some Pakistani people on the internet called the defeat completely one-sided, and asked for big changes, and an Indian fan said how much they liked the honesty and praised the Indian team for playing in a different ‘group’. The online talk was about which players, what plans, and the advantage India had in how they thought about things.
What happened in the match: India very good at batting and bowling
India made 175 for 7 after a really strong showing from Ishan Kishan – who got 77 from 40 balls and was named Player of the Match. Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube helped out too, setting a good target in a very important match.
Pakistan never really got going when they tried to reach the target. Usman Khan got the most runs with 44, and Shaheen Afridi made 23 not out, but Babar Azam only got 5, and was bowled cleanly by Axar Patel. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy all took wickets, and kept the pressure on while Pakistan tried to reach the target.
What the team chose to do, and the toss, were very important
Pakistan had to make an early decision with the toss, and people immediately asked if it was right to choose to field. Teams chasing had already found it hard in this tournament, and in the past it had been safer to bat first. Pakistan chose to bowl, and would have needed to be almost perfect to make that work.
When a team lets the other team get ahead on the scoreboard early, the match often goes against them. India went past 150, which had usually helped them at Premadasa, and Pakistan’s bowlers could not stop it. The result was a complete defeat that many fans thought could have been avoided.
What fans want, and more pressure on the leaders
People in and outside the stadium asked for big changes. Some fans said Babar Azam should be taken out of the team, or think about what his job was, saying ‘If the people of Pakistan think of Babar Azam as a King, he needs to act like one.’ Others asked for clearer rules about who was chosen to play, and less politics in how the team was run.
The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, leaving the ground right after the match made people wonder about who was responsible. It isn’t clear if the team’s managers met with officials after the loss, but people clearly want more openness and a clear plan.
What happens next: sensible steps to get better
Pakistan has four points, but is now behind the USA on net run rate, and has a harder path to the Super 8. The team needs to get much better at both what they plan and how they do it – starting with clearer plans at the toss, better bowling against fast bowling and yorkers, and a batting order which doesn’t change.
Just changing things in the short term won’t fix problems which have been there for a long time. Regular training, clear choices about who plays, and being strong in the mind need to go with changes to plans. If Pakistan wants to get as good as India, it has to combine really looking at itself with quick, focused action on and off the field.
