Pakistan was outplayed and outclassed by a superior Indian team in the Group A encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

After choosing to bat first, Pakistan was restricted to a score of 241 by the Indian bowlers, who were stunningly accurate. None of the Pakistan batters managed to break the shackles except Saud Shakeel, who hit a fluent fifty.

The pitch expectedly grew slow once the match entered the middle passage, and the precision of Indian bowlers made the run-making a laboured task. It was here that the Pakistan batters' skill and shot-making abilities were tested, test, but they never really turned up on the day.

As India chased down the target with six wickets remaining, former Pakistani legends like Ramiz Raja and Shoaib Akhtar criticized the team's performance.

"It was known that what our batting is capable of. People talk of intent but they can only show intent if they have skillset. Pakistan batters do not have any skillset. How will anyone play like Glenn Maxwell," lamented Akhtar in a video on X.

"But this was Pakistan batting as you saw. Again, the same problems with dot balls. They play dot balls because they have no skills with the willow. Intent is not enough alone. Intent, along with skillset, will help a team post a good score. But this is Pakistan batting for you," he said.

Ramiz Raja, in a chat with BBC, also did not mince words and said, "Pakistan has been pedestrian today. You are not going to win the tournament with just one spinner. They knew the conditions but did not pick the right team," he said.

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