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India went in as the betting favorites against Pakistan in their opening T20 game of the ICC World Cup on Oct 24.
India had never lost to Pakistan before in an ICC World Cup tournament and millions of Indians backed the men in blue to start their 2021 T20 World Cup campaign with a win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
Indian fans were embarrassed after India ended up on the losing side. Indian fans don’t like losing but they most certainly don’t like losing to Pakistan due to the political and cross-border tensions between the two countries.
To make things worse, India not only lost the game but was embarrassed and ended up losing 10 wickets.
India Today
India vs. Pakistan games in the shorter format usually tends to be an exciting affair. This game was a complete let down for the fans as it was a one sided affair. The Indian team did not really turn up, especially with the ball as the bowlers looked jaded and lacked the fire.
IPL fans will not be very surprised with this performance because the key members of this Indian team have struggled in the 2021 IPL and it was always going to be a cause for concern.
India Must Regroup Quickly
India has a week to analyse what went wrong and fix things before their next game. India will play New Zealand on Oct 31 in what will be another tough game for the men in blue. There have been questions about team selection after the loss to Pakistan but it is highly unlikely that India is going to make any dramatic changes when they face the Kiwis.
The Shastri-Kohli combination will have one final run at the T20 World Cup as Kohli will relinquish the captaincy after the World Cup and Shastri will give up his head coach role. Their approach after a loss has been to put it behind them and start new. They are not going to change this approach as they come to their final stretch in the partnership.
What we do know is that this loss will not do well for the confidence and they will need to come back with a convincing performance against the Kiwis, to show their fans they have what it takes to win the 2021 T20 World Cup.
