IND vs USA: Instead of bashing Pakistan; Ramiz Raja fires shots at Indian batsmen; taunts Virat and Rohit

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief and former national captain, Ramiz Raja, stirred controversy with his assessment of Team India’s performance in the high-voltage ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Group A encounter against Pakistan in New York.

Despite a promising start, the Indian cricket team’s innings took a dramatic turn in the latter half, as they stumbled from a strong position to a below-par total. Raja noted that Pakistan made the same mistake as India, playing aggressively at the latter end of the chase and losing the game.

Ramiz Raja criticizes India's maverick play despite win over Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2024 match

On the sluggish pitch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, India seemed poised for a strong total, cruising at 80/3 in the first 10 overs. But Team India eventually posted a modest total of 119 runs in 19 overs against Pakistan.

However, a flurry of quick wickets, including Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Rishabh Pant, led to a middle-order collapse, with the Men in Blue losing their last seven wickets for a mere 30 runs against Pakistan.

While some dismissals were credited to excellent bowling for the Men in Green, others lost their wickets due to poor shot selection at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9. 

Despite their below-par batting performance, Indian bowlers rose to the occasion, successfully defending the modest total by restricting the Men in Green to 113/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

Meanwhile, analyzing the blockbuster match, Raja said that India's aggressive approach, due to their "maverick" shot-making, did a favor for Pakistan, but they failed to make the most of it.

The commentator also admitted that had Team India adopted a more conservative strategy, they could have posted a formidable total, potentially beyond Pakistan's reach in the T20 World Cup 2024 clash. Raja also said that Mohammad Rizwan's wicket was the turning point of the game.

India did Pakistan a favor by playing poorly: Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz: “India did them a favor by playing poorly. Actually, because they were playing like Mavericks, otherwise they would have easily gotten to 140-150, which would have been beyond Pakistan. But because of their faulty shot-making and some good bowling, Pakistan came back into the game.”

The former Pakistan captain added, “Mohammad Rizwan’s shot off Jasprit Bumrah was not on. Bumrah had come in to provide the breakthrough. His two overs were make-or-break for Pakistan. If they had put their mind to it and made sure that Bumrah was negotiated safely, it could have been smooth sailing. There is so much clarity in Bumrah’s mind on what he wants to do and he's always a step ahead of the opponent. That really was the critical moment.”

Raja also criticized Pakistan's inability to handle pressure situations, especially against India. He pointed out that Pakistani batters needed to play their simple game on a challenging pitch, contrasting with India's aggressive approach.

They tend to freeze in a tense situation: Raja slams Pakistan Cricket Team

Raja lamented Pakistan's tendency to lose momentum under pressure, labeling their defeat as a missed opportunity against their arch-rivals. He signed off by saying, “You got to do simple things. It was a difficult pitch and you saw how India threw their wickets away by trying to be aggressive. You couldn't be aggressive because there was variation in the bounce.

So, what you had to do was to just negotiate two or three balls that were difficult. Otherwise, there were three, or four runs. But they kept losing wickets. They lost momentum. It's just that they tend to freeze in a tense situation. And that's very sad to see. This was the best chance they had in a very long time to beat India.”