Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Were India Overconfident?

November 21, 2023 13:39 IST

IMAGE: Mohammed Shami and Virat Kohli celebrate after taking David Warner's wicket during the World Cup final on Sunday. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
 

'Jab aap continue game jeete ja rahe ho toh overconfidence bhi zyada ho jati hai, toh woh cheez aapko marwah deti hai (When you win 10 games on the trot, you tend to get overconfident. This leads to your downfall),' retired Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi told the Pakistani television channel Samaa TV.

Shoaib Malik, another Pakistan cricketer, was critical of K L Rahul's batting approach in the final.

'K L Rahul was just trying to bat through the 50 overs. He should not have done that and should have tried to play his game. If you're batting in tough conditions and the boundaries aren't coming easily, then at least you've got to rotate strike. That wasn't happening, there were a lot of dot balls,' Malik told A Sports.

'He has been taking a lot of responsibility when India loses quick wickets upfront. If you will see his innings (against Australia) 66 off 107 balls, it was not a K L Rahul innings,' Malik added.

'He went into a zone, where he only wanted to play the whole fifty overs. He should have been a little more proactive.'

REDIFF CRICKET