Amir’s honest take on the match

The left-arm pacer kept returning to one idea, in T20s, runs on the board creates pressure on the chaser and yet Pakistan let off the golden chance of defeating their arch-rivals after a long time. The video started with Amir saying, “Yaar, hum ne plate mein rakh ke de diya match. Yeh bohot bada mauka tha, hum jeet sakte the. India ne toss jeet kar humein batting di, achha tha. Final mein humehs pehle batting karni chahiye.” (We gave the match on a plate to India. This was a huge opportunity, we could have won the game. India electing to field after winning the toss was good for us. In a final it is always wise to bat first)

He further underlined how Pakistan gave away their good start, “Runs on the board, specially T20 mein, pressure hota hain. Itna achha start, 11-12 overs mein 113/1, dono openers set. Phir samajh nahi aayi ke hua kya. 146 T20 defend nahi hota hai, bha.” (Runs on the board, especially in T20s always creates pressure. It was such a good start, 113/1 within 11 to 12 overs with both opener set. But I did not understand what happened after that. 146 was not defendable.)

The cricketing takeaway from Amir’s analysis

Looking at the game and the pattern that Pakistan followed, one would say Amir’s critique was perfectly analyzed and tactically very sound. Stationed at 100/1, a team is expected to convert it into a total well above the par. The slide of Pakistan from having a brilliant form to being bundled out for just 146 runs left their bowlers with no insulation.

India wobbled in their chase struggling at 20/3 within the fourth over. However, a couple of partnerships and Tilak Varma batting the distance in the end ensured that they got to the total. This further underlines what Amir has analyzed, “one partnership and this kind of scores don’t stand a chance in modern T20 cricket. The age of 140-150 totals in the game have long gone.”