Former India player Harbhajan Singh has strongly responded to former PCB chairman Najam Sethi‘s claim that the Indian cricket team is hesitant to play against their arch-rivals. In an impressive display spanning two days, Team India convincingly defeated Pakistan, achieving their largest-ever victory over them.
The coin toss was the sole aspect favoring Pakistan in the Asia Cup match. Babar Azam faced difficulties in building any momentum, with India posting a formidable 356-2. Pakistan’s run chase was never on track, with wickets falling regularly, resulting in a substantial 228-run defeat for the Men in Green.
Harbhajan expressed his intention to send a message to Sethi via his YouTube channel:
“I have a message for Najam Sethi. He had said that Team India are afraid of playing against Pakistan, I hope he saw the kind of performance that Team India put up, a record win. I hope he must have got his answer, so keep your boys ready for the next game,” Harbhajan said.
Najam Sethi had previously alleged that the BCCI and ACC intentionally chose Colombo, which is susceptible to rain, with the aim of achieving a no-result against Pakistan.
“BCCI/ACC informed PCB today that they had decided to shift next India-Pak match from Colombo to Hambantota because of rain forecasts. Within one hour they changed their mind and announced Colombo as the venue. What’s going on? Is India afraid to play and lose to Pakistan ? Look at the rain forecast!”
Rain did have an impact on the match, with only 24.1 overs being played on the initial day, leading to the use of the reserve day. Although there were some interruptions due to rain on the second day, the match concluded without any overs being deducted.
“They got nothing out of this match except for getting tired’ – Harbhajan Singh on Pakistan
The Super Four clash with India turned into a forgettable experience for Pakistan, as they were convincingly outperformed. Adding to their woes, Pakistan faced setbacks with injuries to two of their fast bowlers, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.
As a precaution, the PCB has summoned Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan as replacements for Naseem and Rauf, who might not participate in the remaining matches. Expressing his view that Pakistan seemed fatigued in all aspects of the game, Harbhajan Singh commented:
“From Pakistan’s perspective, they got nothing out of this match except for getting tired. Bowling was too weak, even the state of the batting was same, very poor batting performance. No Pakistani batter showed that they had the ability to play against quality seam and swing bowling and score runs.”
In the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan currently holds two points, and they have one more match to play. This upcoming match will take place against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.
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