T20 World Cup 2021: "Pakistan made people stand up and take notice with manner of win over India" - Ashish Nehra

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra said that Pakistan have made people take notice of them with their 10-wicket win over India at the 2021 T20 World Cup. He believes Babar Azam's side are strong contenders to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Nehra said:

"Those who weren’t already considering them favourites to reach the semi-finals were underestimating Pakistan. And you are talking about T20s. In their pool, there are three strong teams – India, Pakistan and New Zealand. But in T20s, anyone can beat anyone. The manner in which Pakistan won, people will stand up and take notice."

A brilliant three-wicket haul from Shaheen Shah Afridi and unbeaten half-centuries from openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan powered Pakistan to a comfortable win over rivals India. It was their first victory over the Men in Blue at a World Cup.

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Have to praise Pakistan for their performance: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra said there was not much India's bowlers could have done on Sunday against Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The duo batted brilliantly to help Pakistan record their first-ever 10-wicket win in a T20 International (T20I).

Asked if India's bowlers could have performed better, Nehra said:

"No, not at all. The ball had also gotten a little wet because of the dew. And the way Pakistan started, it filled them with confidence and both of them batted very cleanly. I just remember one incident – when Mohammad Rizwan played a sweep shot off Varun Chakravarthy and it went for a six – that was the only shot where it felt like the batter has taken a risk. Other than that, they played risk-free batting. And with the dew factor and the pitch getting better to bat on, they took full advantage of that. So you just have to praise the way Pakistan played today."

Nehra said that even India captain Virat Kohli did not do much wrong on the night. He felt Pakistan built on their brilliant performance with the ball and did not give India any chances in either innings.

"About Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the only thing I would say is he could have played Mohammed Shami for two consecutive overs (in the Powerplay), but it is also not easy for the captain because there were no wickets in the first three overs, so he tried Varun Chakravarthy also who can be an X-factor, but he went back to Shami and then gave the sixth over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But basically Pakistan did not give India a chance. From bowling, to their fielding, to their batting, they played a 10/10 match and dominated," Nehra said.

It was the first match for both sides in the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage. Pakistan's next match will be another highly anticipated clash against New Zealand on Tuesday (October 26).

India will also face New Zealand in their next match on October 31.