After an embarrassing loss in their first match against New Zealand, India took on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second match in Dubai. After being asked to bowl first, the Indian players played exceptionally well and fired as a unit to restrict Pakistan to just 105/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

During the chase, India were expected to bat quickly and complete the target as soon as possible to improve their net run rate, which took a big hit in the first loss against New Zealand. They suffered a heavy 58-run defeat in the New Zealand game, taking their net run rate to -2,900.

However, their batting approach was lethargic as the batsmen never tried to up the ante and bat with intent. For example, the openers did not try to harness the powerplay and hit boundaries, scoring only 25 runs and losing the wicket of Smriti Mandhana.

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Their first boundary came during the eighth over when Shafali Verma tried to break the shackles, and the Indian team could only hit five boundaries during the chase and did not hit any sixes. Barring Harmanpreet Kaur and Sajeevan Sajana, no other batsman had a strike rate of 100 or more.

India takes 18.5 overs to complete the chase

India’s batting innings never received any momentum and inched towards the target, needing as many as 18.5 overs to win the contest. His run rate in the innings was just 5.83, showing no desperation to chase the target in fewer overs.

Since India have not played Australia yet, they should have tried to increase their net run rate as much as possible in this game, especially when the objective was less than running a ball. Since they didn’t try to bat faster, their NRR remains negative even after the win.

Fans and spectators were greatly surprised by India’s approach as they found they lacked knowledge of the match. The reactions surrounding his insipid batting are abundant.

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