Home
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag trolled Pakistan batters for suffering a collapse during the Asia Cup final on Sunday. This comes after the Men in Green got bowled out for 146 runs in 19.1 overs against India, losing nine wickets in the space of just 33 runs. The team had actually made a fantastic start to the match and had formed a brilliant 84-run opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman. However, India went on to make a fantastic comeback by first breaking the partnership in the 10th over thanks to Varun Chakravarthy.
On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav was undoubtedly the star of the show for India, racking up figures of 4/30 in his four-over spell. He was assisted well by Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel all of whom took two scalps each. For Pakistan, no player other than Farhan and Zaman managed to cross the 20-run mark. Sehwag pointed out that this was not the first time that the Men in Green ended up suffering a batting collapse in a crucial match.
ALSO READ: 'We never made any gesture...': Suryakumar Yadav lashes out at Pakistan team after Asia Cup final
"This has not happened for the first time with Pakistan. They start well and then try to score too many runs. They are 100/1 and then they think 200-225 should be scored. Everyone tries to hit and get out one after the other," Sehwag said on Sony Sports.
"Pakistan are famous for destroying themselves. If you get out while batting well, you put pressure on the next batter. So one batter had to stay if the opening partnership was good. I feel Pakistan don't need bowlers to get them out. Their batters get themselves out," he added.
Sehwag's criticism on Zaman
Sehwag further went on to criticise Pakistan batters' shot selection during the final and labelled it as 'horrible'. He lashed out at Zaman in particular, who was looking set to play a big knock, but ended up playing a poor shot and lost his wicket on 46.
"I would say the shot selection was not right. We can say the Indian bowlers bowled well, which they did to an extent, but the shot selection was horrible. Fakhar Zaman, who was set, got out to a wide ball. You had played out the powerplay and had reached 45 or 46 easily, and then you played that shot to get out. I think he disappointed a lot because one set batter had to stay if Pakistan had to reach 180-190," Sehwag stated.
India's record-extending triumph
Meanwhile, India's five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final saw them win the coveted Asia Cup title for the ninth time in their history. With this win, the Men in Blue once again asserted their dominance over their arch-rivals and over other cricket teams from the Asian continent. They will now shifting their focus to red-ball cricket as their next assignment will be a two-match Test series against West Indies that will commence from October 2.
ADVERTISEMENT
