3 things Pakistan can learn from India after big defeat in Asia Cup 2023

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul notched up dominating tons as India posted a colossal total of 356-2 against Pakistan on the reserve day of their Asia Cup Super Four match on Monday.

Pakistan's chase never really got going as the Indian seamers set the tone with early wickets of Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam. Following this, Kuldeep Yadav showcased a masterful performance, claiming 5/25 to help India secure a monumental victory over their arch-rivals.

With the dominating win, India has made their path to the Asia Cup final relatively easy, while Pakistan now depends on others' results. For starters, the Men in Green need India to beat Sri Lanka and then need to down Sri Lanka themselves by a comprehensive margin in order to make it to the final.

Here we take a look at 3 things Pakistan can learn from India after a big defeat in Asia Cup 2023:

#3 Sticking to the strengths

Bowling first backfired

Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision came back to haunt Pakistan as India plundered runs for fun. And when Pakistan started their chase, the ball began doing a lot under lights and this will be the big takeaway for Azam and Pakistan.

India has batted first in both the India vs Pakistan matches so far in the Asia Cup. Their top order was exposed in the first match but they were better prepared for the second clash. Shubman Gill put pressure on Shaheen Afridi while Rohit Sharma was far more calculative.

Babar has to back his strengths as Pakistan has a more potent bowling attack compared to their batting. As such, they should have batted first, put runs on the board, and then relied on their excellent bowling attack to defend the total.

Teams batting first at the R Premadasa Stadium have been more successful than teams chasing. As far as numbers are concerned, out of 143 ODI matches played, the team batting first has won 78 games. With a solid bowling attack at his disposal, Babar would want to put runs on the board and then put the opposition under pressure.

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#2 Conservative approach

Fakhar struggled to find momentum before he was castled

Over the last couple of months, ‘The Pakistan Way’ has found a lot of traction on social media. The fearless approach had given them good results in the previous month but as soon as they were put under pressure by a rampant Indian side, Pakistan went back to the conservative approach, bereft of any intent.

Their chase went nowhere, Babar looked rather lost while shuffling his bowlers, and the fielding had numerous lapses.

Fakhar Zaman struggled against the moving ball, kept prodding away, and fell to an almighty hoick across the line. Babar got off the mark after 10 deliveries only to be dismissed by a sharp in-ducker from Hardik Pandya.

Rohit Sharma, too, struggled against Naseem Shah in the first innings but he kept at it and dug his heels. He waited for his moment and took down Shadab Khan as soon as he found his feet. The Pakistani batting order needs to take a leaf out of India’s playbook and make amends. They should be more than willing to get their hands dirty, suss the conditions, and then go after the attack.

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#1 Middle over woes

Wickets in the middle overs are key

Pakistan has a penchant for complicating their middle overs without any prompting and in the match against India, they were without Haris Rauf which forced Babar to use Iftikhar Ahmed, who bowled five overs. Shadab Khan’s ineffectiveness and the lack of wicket-takers in the middle overs cost Babar's side the match.

Such was the ineffectiveness that not even one Pakistan bowler came within the reach of breaking through, and the match kept slipping away as the innings panned out. Both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli found their rhythm and at no point, did they look under pressure. They smashed 92 runs in the final eight overs, propelling India to a massive total of 356/2, with Pakistan getting bowled out for 128.

India, on the other hand, kept finding wickets in the middle overs, with Kuldeep Yadav spinning a web around his opponents. Shadab Khan has not been at his best for a while now and Pakistan does not really have attacking options in the middle overs. This is another big lesson for them as picking up wickets in the middle phase is paramount to dominating ODI matches.