Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja believes that India's poor performance in the latter half of their innings during the T20 World Cup Group A match against Pakistan played into Pakistan's hands, but Babar Azam's team failed to capitalise on it. Despite a sluggish pitch at the Nassau Cricket County ground, India seemed well on course for a total over 150 at 80/3 in the first 10 overs. However, a drastic change occurred as Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Rishabh Pant departed quickly due to a combination of excellent bowling and poor shot selection.
Ramiz remarked that India's aggressive approach favoured Pakistan, as more controlled innings could have taken the game beyond Pakistan's reach. He mentioned, "India did them a favour 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."
Despite India's batting collapse, their total of 119 proved to be sufficient as the Indian bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, restricted Pakistan to 113/6 in 20 overs. Ramiz identified Mohammad Rizwan's dismissal as the turning point of the match, emphasising that Pakistan lacked positive intent and game awareness.
Ramiz criticised Pakistan's lower-middle order for failing to capitalise on Rizwan's innings and keep the scoreboard ticking. He highlighted the importance of temperament in pressure situations, expressing disappointment at Pakistan's tendency to freeze under such circumstances.
In conclusion, Ramiz lamented Pakistan's missed opportunity to capitalise on India's batting collapse, describing it as the best chance they had in a long time to defeat their arch-rivals.