CHANDIGARH: Less than 24 hours after crashing to a morale-shattering World Twenty20 defeat against old rivals India, Pakistan players checked into the majestic Taj Chandigarh on Sunday pondering ways and means to stay alive in the ten-nation contest.
A killer punch by Virat Kohli, who sparkled with an unbeaten 55 off 37 balls on a turning wicket, helped India tame Pakistan by six wickets.
The result put the hosts back in contention for a place in last four but Pakistan now find themselves in a tight spot as they will have to beat both New Zealand and Australia to qualify for a place in the semis. They meet New Zealand on Tuesday (tomorrow) and Australia on Friday in Mohali.
“We know that our team has lost its lifeline (by losing to India) and cannot afford to stumble against neither New Zealand nor Australia,” a team official told ‘The News’ on Sunday.
“It’s a tough task but our team can do it.”
However, so far things don’t look good for Pakistan.
Their batting showed spine in a 55-run win against Bangladesh but failed against the Indians. Barring Mohammad Amir, the bowlers have also largely failed to rise to the occasion.
The team’s morale is pretty low and understandably so.
On their arrival at the Taj, the mood was visibly down.
“It’s natural because losing a world cup match against India is a very big deal,” the official said.
“But they are all professionals and know that they have to shrug it off and be ready for the coming matches,” he added.
Mohammad Amir, meanwhile, announced that he and his team-mates were raring to have a go at New Zealand.
“No issue if we have lost this match… Insha-Allah we will win the next match. Just wait n watch,” he told his fans on a social media website.
Agencies add: Pakistan did all they could to get their World Twenty20 match against India moved to Kolkata, even threatening to withdraw, but poor selection and the hosts’ all-round superiority left them wishing they had not bothered to turn up at all.
The most anticipated match of the tournament between the neighbours was shifted to Eden Gardens at the last moment over security concerns at the original venue at Dharamsala.
Pakistan repeatedly emphasised India’s morale-sapping loss in the opener against New Zealand was an advantage for them and they were even more confident of breaking their jinx of losing every World Cup match between the bitter rivals.
Their decision to play four fast bowlers against India reflected an approach more suited to the 1980s West Indies side and dropping spinner Imad Wasim at the expense of a paceman underlined their failure to read the surface.
Asked to bat in the rain-shortened Group Two match, the 2009 champions were largely subdued once off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got the new ball to turn viciously.
Doubts seemed to creep into Pakistan’s minds regarding what would be a decent target to set India, who folded for 79 against the Kiwis on a turning track while chasing 127 in their opener, and the innings never gained momentum until the death overs.
In the end, Pakistan could only manage a meagre 118 for five in their 18 overs, nowhere near enough without the bowling depth New Zealand could draw upon in Nagpur when their spinners picked up nine of 10 wickets to stun India.
India did suffer a minor wobble though, slumping to 23-3 after Mohammad Sami dismissed Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in consecutive deliveries in the fifth over to silence the 60,000 crowd at Eden Gardens as well as the millions watching on TV.
However, India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli hit a prudent 55 not out to calm the nerves and showed why he is considered one of the world’s best.
As the pressure lifted, India were easily able to maintain their utter dominance of Pakistan in World Cup events, adding a fifth World Twenty20 victory to the six triumphs in the 50-over format.