India vs Pakistan, ICC World Cup 2019: Sachin Tendulkar identifies big reason behind Pakistan’s humiliating defeat to India

Sarfaraz won the toss and elected to bat first, but then Indian openers, after a watchful start, took control of proceedings as they almost strolled to 336.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar believes Pakistan lacked out of the box thinking and that their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was confused right through the match. (Complete coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019)

File image of Sachin Tendulkar (Getty Images)

Sarfaraz won the toss and elected to bat first, but then Indian openers, after a watchful start, took control of proceedings as they almost strolled to 336. Tendulkar put the blame on Sarfaraz and said that the skipper lacked any ideas and was very confused with his field placements.

“I thought he was confused because when Wahab was bowling he had a short mid-wicket. And when Shadab came on to bowl he had a slip for him. In these conditions, it becomes difficult for a leg-spinner to grip the ball, especially when he’s not getting the right line and length. That is not the right way to approach a big game,” Tendulkar told India Today.

“They lacked imagination, lacked out of the box thinking. If the ball is not moving around much, you don’t continue bowling over the wicket, Wahab went around the wicket but it was too late by then. Hassan was the only guy to get the ball to move off the surface. I would have told them to change the angle and do something different. I never thought we were going to lose a wicket,” he further added.

Watch: Full highlights of the match