Ever since India lost to Pakistan in the final of the 2017 champions trophy, Cricket experts, fans, former players have all been dwelling deep into the reason behind India”s abysmal performance.
For a team that played top class cricket all through the tournament, their abject surrender in the final was hard to digest from an India point of view. So where did India go wrong? India off- spinner Harbhajan Singh believes its the bowling department that is to be blamed for India’s horrific loss against an ordinary Pakistan side in the Champions Trophy final. Bhajji added that the bowlers did not perform ‘when it mattered’.
Harbhajan Singh blames the bowler”s for India”s loss
The 36-year-old veteran blamed India”s poor efforts on the field added the men in blue lacked the hunger to win. According to Harbhajan, the Indian bowlers gave away a lot of runs in the middle overs which allowed the Pakistani batsmen to amass a massive total of 338 runs. Harbhajan did not mince any words as he also pointed out the spinners failed miserably to take wickets which also turned the game in favor of Pakistan.
“Our bowlers disappointed when it mattered the most. We didn’t start too well to begin with. The spinners did not help by giving away too many runs, plus they didn’t take any wickets. This cost us immensely,” Harbhajan wrote in his column for the ICC.
“Our fielding was not up to the mark as seen in previous matches. It was such kind of performance where we were hoping for a breakthrough rather than making things happen.
“The runs given in the middle overs were too much. They got their partnerships spot on. They were up for it right from the first ball and one had the feeling that they had saved their best for the final against us,” he said.
Despite have a reasonably good IPL stint, Harbhajan was ignored by the selectors for the 2017 Champions Trophy. However, the Turbanator was seen cheering the team throughout the tournament with his motivating tweets.
