A lot has been said about the dropped catch of Asif Ali by Arshdeep Singh in the high voltage encounter between India and Pakistan on Sunday. This was the second encounter between the two countries in Asia Cup 2022. It seems the majority of the viewers believes that the dropped catch cost India the match. Well, think twice, because India had lost the game much before this catch.
With the kind of start and the pitch at the Dubai International Stadium, India were definitely short by at least 9-10 runs. Rohit Sharma and team couldn’t capitalise on the mostly flat pitch and lacklustre bowling by the Pakistan team. Batting second was always going to be an advantage on this ground.
The Indian bowlers refrained from bouncers despite reaping benefits of short balls in the last match. It was understandable because this ground lacked pace, but not trying short balls at all was baffling. Not putting batsmen to test and delivering only length balls gave Pakistan ample time to set up the chase.
Pakistan needed 136 out of 81, 119 off 67 and then 63 on 36. It still had eight wickets in hand and Rizwan at the crease.
Let’s take a look at Pakistan’s batting firepower left to bat in last six overs: Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan. Do you really think these batters couldn’t chase even 72 in last 36 balls?
When Arshdeep dropped Asif, Pakistan needed 32 in 16 balls. All world class teams prepare for such scenarios and chasing 14-15 runs in the last over has only become a matter of hitting two sixes. And Pakistan would have gone full throttle for such a win.
This match was always tilted in Paksitan’s favour and they should have won the match given the situations. So, stop blaming Arshdeep, who by the way showed a large heart in the last over. It was not India’s day.
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