IND vs PAK: Pakistan Batters Did Not Bat Responsibly As Per The Conditions - Umar Gul

Former Pakistan cricketer and current Afghanistan team bowling coach Umar Gul shed light on Pakistan’s loss to Rohit Sharma & co in their first game of the Asia Cup 2022.

After being asked to bat first, Pakistan had a poor start and kept losing wickets at regular intervals throughout the innings.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) and Hardik Pandya (3/26) led the way for India, restricting Pakistan to a total of 147 in the first innings. Barring Mohammad Rizwan (43) and Iftikhar Ahmed (28), no other Pakistan batter went to the distance. 

The encounter went down the wire as Hardik (33 in 17 balls) managed to take India home in a thrilling last-over finish. 

Although India won the game in the end, Pakistan fought till the end with Mohammad Nawaz cleaning up Ravindra Jadeja on the first delivery of the final over. 

I feel Pakistan scored 20-25 runs less: Umar Gul

According to Umar Gul, a T20 World Cup winner with Pakistan, the bowlers did their job well and could have won the game had the batters piled up 20-25 runs more on the board. 

“I feel Pakistan scored 20-25 runs less. The batters did not bat responsibly as per the conditions. Some shot selections were not right. Had there been 20-25 runs more then things would have been different” Gul told news agency ANI.

Afghanistan is doing better in all the departments: Umar Gul

Afghanistan was the first team to secure its spot in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. The Mohammad Nabi-led team defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group B to advance to the next stage of the tournament.

The team performed clinically, especially with the ball, bowling Sri Lanka out for 105 in their opening game and restricting Bangladesh to 127/7 in the second game. As Afghanistan’s bowling coach, Gul was nothing but proud to see his bowlers exhibiting the plans and leading the way for the team. 

“Obviously, I feel proud when your players are executing the plans given by you. It feels great as a coach. So far this is the result of the all-round cricket we have played. We are doing better in all the departments on a day-to-day basis. We are trying to rectify the mistakes we do on a daily basis. We have more important matches in the coming days and we are trying to work on them,” Gul said. 

Afghanistan will now face Sri Lanka in their first Super 4 stage game on Saturday (September 3) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. 

Also Read: Pakistan vs Hong Kong: Hong Kong’s Predicted Playing XI Against Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022, Match 6