Defiant Arthur comes out swinging

A bitterly disappointed Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur came out swinging in defending his side after a rain-adjusted 124-run defeat to India.

The South African, more often known for a restrained public style, twice said that journalists had “insulted” his players by suggesting that they lacked effort and had not improved in his year of tenure.

“That's a total insult to say we're playing even worse. If you have a look at our records over the last year we've won two series. We've got ourselves from nine to number eight [in the ICC world rankings] and our brand of cricket has changed.

“We had a poor game today and we're obviously trying our best and we're trying to change it. And it's not going to happen overnight.

“I'm particularly disappointed, but to ask me that question is an insult to how hard these boys have trained and what those boys have done.”

Disappointment was the dominant feeling for the coach, after the biggest rivalry of the ICC Champions Trophy fizzled out. A fired-up India blazed 72 runs from their final 24 balls to score 319 from a rain-reduced 48 overs.

This was sealed by fast fifties from Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli and a closing flurry from Hardik Pandya. Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan also made half-centuries opening the batting, as Pakistan failed to apply pressure to any Indian batsman.

Pakistan’s target was reduced to 289 from 41 overs after further rain, but the team wilted under pressure to be bowled out in less than 34 overs for 164. In the field, they donated runs to India via dropped catches, misfields and overthrows.

“The worrying thing for me, and it has been for a period of time, is we just do the basics wrong,” said Arthur. “We dropped simple catches. We don't run well enough between wickets. We don't hit the keeper with our throws. We don't understand when to bowl our variations.

“Hasan Ali dropped Yuvraj and Fahim Ashraf dropped Virat Kohli. You take those catches, it's a different game. I thought at one stage we bowled well enough to be chasing 270.”

However, he wasn’t prepared to fault their effort, agreeing instead with a suggestion that the huge audience and highly charged political context around India-Pakistan clashes might have put his players off.

“The boys didn't go out there to perform like that. The boys have trained extremely hard. They've worked extremely hard over 12 days. “It's up to me and my coaching staff to find out why we didn't execute. Because for us to go and have a performance as tentative as that right from the start is a worry. And the only thing I can think of is the magnitude of the occasion got to them.”

The Pakistan coach also took on a journalist who suggested that such a comprehensive loss could damage the team’s prospects for improvement.

“It will never take Pakistan cricket backwards. In fact something like this could take it forwards, for the simple reason that a lot of questions get answered. When we put our performance in like that we answer a lot of questions, and a lot of things become clearer for us in terms of how we take this team forward.”

Despite the fireworks, Arthur finished on an upbeat note about what was next. “We'll have a good, hard chat tonight. And then when we leave the dressing room tonight it will all be done, and we'll be thinking firmly of coming back and beating South Africa. Because that's what I think our players can do, and that's what I certainly believe our team can do.”