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After Pakistan's title defence in the Champions Trophy ended in the group stage, former cricketer Basit Ali apologised for his statement that the final would be played in Lahore and backed India to lift the title.
Pakistan's dreadful run in the ICC events continued after the defending champions lost two games on the trot in the group stage against New Zealand and India. The Men in Green needed a favour from Bangladesh to stage a victory over New Zealand. However, on Monday, the relentless Kiwis took the Tigers down with a five-wicket win in Rawalpindi to seal their trip to the semi-finals with India. The shock of Pakistan's exit continued reverberating on Tuesday, with Basit apologising for his prior statement that the Champions Trophy final would be held in Lahore. "I apologise for saying that the final will be played in the final. I didn't expect Pakistan to play like this," Basit said on his YouTube channel. After Pakistan's title defence ended on a bitter note, Basit hopes India goes on to dominate the tournament and eventually walk away with the title on March 9. "I genuinely wish India would dominate the tournament and win it. If South Africa and India play the final, it would be good because it will be like the T20 World Cup final," he added. As a global cricket event returned to Pakistan after nearly three decades, New Zealand stepped up to spoil the party. The Blackcaps drew confidence from their success in the ODI tri-nation series and forced Pakistan to surrender to a 60-run defeat. With Pakistan's campaign in jeopardy and signs pointing towards the defending champions leaving their party early, the high-voltage encounter against India became a must-win affair. With the odds stacked against them, Pakistan paid the price for their sub-par attempts to orchestrate a victory in Dubai. Pakistan's premier batter, Babar Azam, couldn't trouble India's bowling unit. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah hardly threatened India's star-studded batting unit. As a result, India outwitted the Men in Green in all facets of the game and eventually succumbed to a six-wicket defeat. With the hopes of the semi-finals dead and burried, Pakistan will wrap up its campaign against Bangladesh in a dead-rubber match on Thursday in Rawalpindi. (ANI)
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