Inexperienced Pakistan lose their nerve against India

Pakistan beat India in a World T20 warm-up match, but they couldn’t beat the jinx of winning against them in a World Cup fixture.

What was also surprising that a wounded India (after their disastrous defeat against Australia) beat Pakistan, in what veteran cricket writer Ayaz Memon called a ’no-contest'.

But why exactly is this happening?

“We must remember that Pakistan are a very young side. If you take out Shahid Afridi, then they are an inexperienced team. What many people tend to overlook is that India has the more experienced players. They’ve got players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan— players who have been around for 8-10 years. You take away Shahid Afridi, and Pakistan are a pretty young side,” Ayaz said.

He also admits that Pakistan were settling down as a side in the past year, with impressive performances against all countries. But an Indo-Pak is a different kettle of fish for players from both sides.

“The jitters of an Indo-Pak match seemed to affect the younger Pakistani players more,” said Ayaz.

Their most experienced player, Afridi, has also had a bad run of form with the bat, and Ayaz is of the view that he is finished as a batsman.

Check out the video for the full conversation between Pulasta Dhar and Ayaz Memon.