T20 World Cup 2021: "You've got to forget what has happened" - Sunil Gavaskar's advice to the Indian team

After India went down by 10 wickets at the hands of Pakistan in their opening game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, 2021 in Dubai, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar dubbed the defeat a "hammering".

The result saw India succumb to their arch-rivals for the very first time in 13 bouts between the two nations across international Cricket World Cups (both 20-over and 50-over formats).

Gavaskar, who is on the commentary panel for the marquee event, spoke to host broadcaster Star Sports following the conclusion of the contest and stated:

"It's a hammering. It's not just a big win (for Pakistan). It's a hammering that India have received especially when a team wins by 10 wickets and 13 deliveries. And it wasn't an easy chase. Hopefully, they will pick themselves up quickly because that's important. You've got to forget what has happened in this game and focus on the next few matches that are there."

This was India's first defeat by 10 wickets in a T20I

The defeat to Pakistan turned out to be India's first by 10 wickets in the T20 format. Incidentally, it was also Pakistan's first-ever victory in the format by the same margin, having coasted to their 152-run target with 13 deliveries to spare.

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Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan led the way with sublime half-centuries that saw the side stay on par with the asking rate for pretty much the entirety of the chase.

The victory was orchestrated by left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi though, who broke the back of the Indian batting lineup with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the first three overs of the contest.

Afridi later returned to prize out Virat Kohli in the penultimate over of the first innings after the Indian captain led the team's fightback with a stoic 49-ball knock of 57 runs. A total of 151/7 wasn't going to be enough, though, with the dew setting in during the second innings.

Skipper Babar Azam led the way with a sublime half-century as Pakistan coasted to a 10-wicket victory against India on Sunday.

Pakistan next face New Zealand on Tuesday, October 26 while India have a much longer break before taking on the Kiwis themselves on October 31. Both T20 World Cup matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.