Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf's controversial remarks against India came to haunt him as Rohit Sharma and Co. crushed Babar Azam and his men in the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

Last month, after the Pakistan cricket team landed in India to participate in the quadrennial event, Zaka Ashraf described India as an “enemy nation.”

“We have showed our love towards our players with the new contracts. No one has allocated as much budget towards player contracts as I've done. Mera maksad ye hi hai ki hamaare players ka morale up rehna chahiye, jab ye dushman mulk me khelne jaaye, ya kahi bhi jaaye jaha competition ho raha hai. (I only want my players to be in high morale when they travel to enemy nation, or anywhere in the world, to take part in the competition),” Zaka Ashraf said.

Interestingly, Zaka Ashraf's hate-filled remarks came after Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and his teammates were overwhelmed by the rousing reception they received after they arrived in Hyderabad.

After their flight landed in Telangana's capital, the Indian fans showered Babar Azam and his colleagues with a lot of love as whistles and chants filled the arena.

Subsequently, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, and fast bowler Shaheen Afridi praised the Indians for the hospitality they have been receiving in India.

However, Zaka Ashraf received a perfect response from Indian fans for insulting “Bharat” as they had fun at his expense after Rohit Sharma and his teammates crushed Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat.

 

If one analyzes Pakistan's performance in the game against India, the Babar Azam-led side produced a batting display that was very Pakistan-like in Gujarat.

At 155/2, Pakistan had 300 in sight as two of its most senior batters, captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, were batting together in the middle.

As it appeared Pakistan was in control of the proceedings against the Indian bowlers, Mohammed Siraj produced a gem to dismiss Babar Azam, who fell for fifty off 58 balls.

Subsequently, the Pakistan middle order fell like nine-pins, with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the destroyers-in-chief of the Green Army's batting line-up.

Eventually, the Pakistan cricket team was dismissed for 191, with their last eight wickets adding only 37 runs on the scoreboard.

With India needing 192 to register their eighth successive victory over Pakistan in 50-over World Cups, the Men in Blue were off to a flier, with Rohit Sharma smashing the ball over the park.

Rohit Sharma, who struck a blistering hundred in the last match against Afghanistan, appeared in great nick as he dealt in boundaries and sixes throughout his knock in Motera.

The Pakistani bowlers were helpless in front of Rohit Sharma's onslaught as the Indians were on their way to a commanding win over their neighbors.

Though India lost Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in quick succession, with both contributing 16 runs each, Shreyas Iyer joined Rohit Sharma in the middle, and their 77-run partnership almost sealed the home team's triumph.

But against the run of play, Rohit Sharma, steadily moving toward his second consecutive century in this edition of the World Cup, lost his wicket to Shaheen Shah Afridi as he mistimed a slower ball from the premier Pakistan speedster.

After Rohit Sharma's departure, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul ensured there were no more hiccups for Team India, as the hosts completed a seven-wicket triumph with more than 19 overs to spare.

Pakistan's shocking capitulation against India led to severe criticism from former cricketers, who tore into the side for committing a series of mistakes during the match.

Among the ex-players, who blasted Babar Azam and his colleagues were Eoin Morgan, Mohammad Amir, Dinesh Karthik and Sunil Gavaskar.

“When you want to beat the best sides in the world are in this tournament. You have to bring your A-game. So I got a boxing match. You can't have a bad round. You can have a bad blow here and there. But it can't be consecutive with lots of wickets or clusters of wickets,” Eoin Morgan said on Sky Sports.

“And we did see it in the first game here in New Zealand against England, where England was starting to get away and throwing the odd punch here and there but couldn't quite land up blow, which is a substantial partnership that would take them up to a winning par score. I think Pakistan made those mistakes today,” the former England skipper elaborated.

“Since we are talking about Pakistan team, let me tell you where the problem is. Our preparations were wrong. Hasan Ali came into the World Cup after Naseem Shah got injured. Hasan Ali was not even in their plans. He was injured and not even playing,” Mohammad Amir on Geo Sports.

“The one we were carrying for three years, Mohammad Wasim Jr, plays one match and sits out for the next two. He is still with the team, but is on the bench. And the one who came in as a replacement is bowling for Pakistan. You didn’t prepare someone to bowl in the new ball and who has come from outside is playing,” he stressed.

“It's going to be hard to three days. I can promise you that they walk through airports like just what, Morgs said. There'll be a lot of notifications coming in and most of it negative at this point of time. Ideally, if I was there, I wouldn't look at the phone for a couple of days. That's a start,” Dinesh Karthik said.

“Now, how do you deal with a loss like this? Because psychologically it is a bit of a blow. It's one thing to compete and lose. Like when they lost against India in Melbourne in T20 a year ago, that is acceptable. They fought right to the end, India with a better team and they just picked them at the post. But today they didn't compete. Now that is always hard to get over,” the seasoned India campaigner expressed.

“They already have two wins and it is okay among the top ranked teams to lose one. What you don't want to be doing is lose two on the bounce or get upset by one of the smaller teams. That will put a lot of people into your dreams, especially when it comes to the top four. They're a good team. There is no doubt about it. They're a team which has a good bowling attack. The are a team, which has a good batting unit as well. It's about coming together, practising the right way and most importantly, believing in the same belief that they had at the start of the tournament and not change things midway,” Dinesh Karthik summed up.

“Having dismissed Pakistan for 191, the plan was to not give them a chance in any way. The main danger was Shaheen Shah Afridi because if he could get 2-3 early wickets then that could cause a bit of panic in the team. However, we've seen how India recovered against Australia,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.