‘Barring two entire squad should be blamed for defeat’

LONG ISLAND (NY): Pakistan’s Head Coach Gary Kirsten said that it was all going Pakistan’s way midway through the match with 120-run winning target looked all that easy to chase.

“At 72-2, we were well on target. Disappointment indeed. If you make mistakes, you have to pay. Run a ball and we were on the target. Though it was not an easy target on a tricky wicket, we could have won it easily. We have the game in our hands for 35 overs before losing it by ourselves,” Gary said, adding that everyone should be blamed for the defeat barring bowlers who presented Pakistan with a good opportunity to put their campaign back on track.

“I thought 140 would be a difficult target on the wicket but when bowlers restricted to 120, I think we should have won it easily.” The message was to look for the odd boundary.

“We lost wickets and then we stopped scoring. That was cruel. For 15 overs we were there. But we lost the plot mainly because we could not go according to the plan set forth for the chase.”

Here are some of the facts following India’s win against Pakistan the other day at Nassau County Stadium.

119 is the lowest total defended by India in a men’s T20I; it is also the joint-lowest total defended by any side in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (Sri Lanka v New Zealand in 2014). India have now beaten Pakistan seven times in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (including Super Over wins), the outright highest number of wins for any team against a single opponent in competition history.