3 tactical changes Pakistan can make to defeat India in Super 4 clash

India handed over a lesson to Pakistan during their group stage encounter. It was a clinical performance from India and they were better than Pakistan in every department.

An overconfident Pakistan turned up for the game against India, the way their batsmen went about their business was a sign of over-confidence. Almost all the top-order batsmen got out playing rash shots. Their bowling was also lacklustre.

On the other hand, Indian bowling was disciplined and it appeared that they learnt their lessons from the Hong Kong game. Indian batting was also on spot, the batsmen were not extravagant and played according to the situation. They were chasing a low score and accordingly took their time to get going and ended up chasing the modest Pakistani total comfortably.

Pakistan made some tactical blunders during the game and they would like to set the record straight in the next game. Let us see what Pakistan can do differently to make amends in the super 4 clash against India:

#1 Batsmen should take their time to get settled

Pakistani batsmen need to play themselves in before going for the big shots

Pitches on offer in Asia Cup are not absolutely flat wickets. These are not 300-325 run wickets, a score of around 275 would be a difficult score to chase on these wickets. Batsmen and bowlers both are in the game on these pitches, spinners are getting the turn and the ball is stopping a bit. Fast bowlers who have variety can keep the scoring under check.

On such pitches, batsmen need to get settled before going into attack mode and that is where Pakistan made the mistake. Pakistani batsmen tried to go slam-bang from the word go and in the process lost their wickets. They would have learnt their lessons in the last game and are expected to take their time to get settled this time around.

#2 Add more firepower to the Spin bowling department

Pakistan needs to strengthen their spin bowling department

On pitches which are conducive to spin bowling, Pakistan went in with just one specialist spinner in the form of Shadab Khan. This tactic backfired as the sameness of Pakistani bowling proved detrimental to their efforts to defeat India.

Performance of spinners in the tournament so far has proved that they are a must to win matches on these kinds of wickets. Pakistan would like to make amends and add an extra spinner to their attack against India in the super 4 clash.

#3 Avoid over-confidence

Pakistan should avoid over-confidence

It seems that the champions trophy final win and Virat Kohli's absence made Pakistan over-confident and they ended up being complacent. Indian batting's over-dependence on Kohli during the tour of England seems to have made Pakistan think that Indian batting would struggle in his absence, but, these are Asian conditions and all the Indian batsmen thrive on these kinds of pitches. Kohli's absence is not such a handicap in these conditions.

There appears to be a hangover from Pakistan's recent batting success in Zimbabwe. They need to understand that they can't read too much into their performance against Zimbabwe. It's a misnomer and playing quality bowling sides like India is a completely different cup of tea.