Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur made headlines right after the team's brutal seven-wicket loss at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday with a controversial statement on no Pakistani music being played at the venue throughout the proceedings of the game which made him feel "like a BCCI event rather than ICC". And while world cricket has barely moved on from the bizarre remark, Arthur has now sent a 'World Cup final' warning to the Indian team.
In front of a packed Ahmedabad stadium, India hammered Pakistan to claim a record eighth World Cup win against the arch-rivals, the joint-most ever by a side against a single opposition. Despite captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan rebuilding the innings from 73 for 2 to 155/2 with their 82-run stand, Pakistan incurred a horror collapse, inflicted by Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, as they were bundled out for just 191 over the next 73 balls.
Rohit Sharma later notched up his second straight fifty-plus score while Shreyas Iyer scored his maiden in a World Cup match as India chased down the target with 117 balls to spare.
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Despite the heavy defeat which left veterans and experts questioning whether Pakistan can even make the semifinals, Arthur is not just confident of the team's run to the knockouts, he believes that it will be India who they will run into in the final next month at the very same venue.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the heavy defeat which left veterans and experts questioning whether Pakistan can even make the semifinals, Arthur is not just confident of the team's run to the knockouts, he believes that it will be India who they will run into in the final next month at the very same venue.
{{/usCountry}}“This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul (Dravid) and Rohit (Sharma). I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them again in the final," he said.
Pakistan still remain in contention for the top four although the World Cup yet to even reach the halfway mark. They had earlier defeated Netherlands and Sri Lanka to stands fourth in the table after a total of 13 matches in the tournament so far.
“We're two from three now,” Arthur said “We've played well in patches in this tournament, but I don't think we've hit our straps yet, and that's the exciting thing for me.
“The key is remaining calm, staying focused, concentrating on what our next opposition is, getting the strategies right for that, getting the team balance right, and then the next focus is the next game for us.”