Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis reckons that the men in green missed the golden opportunity to register a win over their arch-rivals India in their group stage encounter at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Wednesday. 

Speaking to News18, Waqar said, “How did our team come under such pressure? I can’t believe that they have come under such pressure, there could not have been a better chance than this to defeat India.”

India and Pakistan locked horns for the last time in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, which they won by 180 runs. However, it was a dominant Indian performance from start to finish in Dubai which saw the defending champions of the Asia Cup win by eight wickets with more than 20 overs to spare on Wednesday.

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Speaking about the advantages the men in green had ahead of the same, Younis said, “For the first time in ten years, I had felt that the Indian team was feeling pressure ahead of a game against Pakistan. It’s possible that there was a reason for this. For instance, this is (effectively) Pakistan’s home ground.”

He further added, “India is not used to playing in such heat, and to add to that, they have just returned from a long tour of England. But nothing of the sort happened. Given how hard Hong Kong made India work yesterday, Pakistan could have taken advantage of this opportunity.”

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Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons was also watching the Indo-Pak game from the stands and he expected a lot of entertainment from this match but he doesn’t think it’s going to be an exciting game anymore. He even said that the last exciting Indo-Pak match for me was the 2011 World Cup Semi-final in Mohali.

The arch-rivals will lock horns once again in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup on Sunday, September 23.