Pakistan’s team manager Mickey Arthur discussed the mood at the World Cup game at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. He observed that the huge number of Indian supporters made the match feel more like a home game for India and less like a conventional ICC tournament and more like a bilateral series or BCCI-hosted event.
“Honestly, the atmosphere tonight didn’t feel like an ICC event,” said Arthur. It seemed more like a BCCI-hosted tournament than a bilateral series. ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ shouts weren’t as prevalent as I had anticipated. This may have an impact on the game, but I won’t use it as a justification.
He expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s performance, particularly their failure to build on a promising beginning. India easily attained the mark as Pakistan went from 155/2 to being knocked out for 191.
“I believe that today’s performance was relatively reserved overall. I would have preferred if we had been more assertive. Although it’s an important event, we seemed to pull back a little. It’s unacceptable to go from 155/2 to 191 all out, Arthur continued.
Arthur also lauded the Indian team for their outstanding performance and recognized KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for their capable leadership.
This Indian team is quite skilled. Rahul and Rohit are guiding them properly, in my opinion. They seem to be in great shape and have a balanced squad, he said.
