The steps are frozen, the thoughts are careful, the nerves are arrested

The steps are frozen, the thoughts are careful, the nerves are arrested

The manner in which the Pakistani openers attempted to open the innings, which might have been successful in Dubai or Lahore, was unlikely in Perth.

Saqlain Mushtaq was staring into space, Babar Azam was hiding his face in his palms and the shadow of a Yasit was shadowing the Pakistani dressing room.

When fear grips the mind, all earthly facts are left in limbo and judgments become muddled in the oblivion of doubt.

 The fear that appeared on Pakistani batting in Perth, after that, even if they had won by crawling, it would have been a disappointment.

 Asad Shafiq, on his way to Australia six years ago, summed up the conditions like this: here you just have to score runs quickly before a good ball sends you on your way to the pavilion. Most of the stadiums in Australia, especially Perth and Brisbane, have the same mood.

 The conditions that Pakistan played in Melbourne before this were also bouncy but the case of Perth is different. And even if there is some grass on the wicket, the ghosts of the 2007 World Cup Ireland match start hovering in the Pakistani dressing room. A similar story happened in the quarter finals of 2015.

 The only problem is that bowling coach Sean Tait has had a very close relationship with the conditions in which the Pakistani pacers were bowling. Shaan played all his cricket on these wickets. So how is it possible that the plans given by Shaun did not work in the power play itself and on such a disastrous pitch, Zimbabwe laughed and returned to the fun of the power play.

The common sense is not ready to admit that while Mazarbani, Nagerwa and Evans were not playing for the Muslim T20 batsmen, what charisma happened that Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah became the stars for the Zimbabwean openers?

The momentum that Pakistan had handed over to Zimbabwe in the powerplay, although Haris Rauf, Shadab and Wasim Jr pulled it back in the middle overs, by then shoulders had sagged and fear began to dominate hope.

 Zimbabwean pacers unleashed fury on Pakistani batting. Undoubtedly, his pace and skill also played a role in this, but the main reason was Perth's bounce, which had got on the nerves of the Pakistani batsmen and they were constantly entering the crease. The steps were frozen and caution did the trick.

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The manner in which the Pakistani openers attempted to open the innings, which might have been successful in Dubai or Lahore, was unlikely in Perth. Here, Zimbabwe also made good use of the short pitch, while the Pakistani pacers were left to head full-length while looking for swing in the power play.

This defeat in Pakistan's World Cup history is a tragedy that everyone would like to forget soon, but it will still remain unforgettable. Not only will it linger as a ghost, it will also remain forever inexplicable to most cricketing minds.

This tragedy is even worse that Pakistan actually came here to improve the run rate. As if there was such a complete certainty of victory that now only the margin was being considered. But while Pakistan was dreaming of improving the run rate, the world almost turned dark and now Pakistan's survival in the tournament depends more on prayers than medicine.

On the other hand, India, though facing a slightly easier opponent, Rohit Sharma's team played a lot of cricket. Sydney and Adelaide are two pitches where there is room for Asian batsmen to score good runs. The Indian top-order recovered the confidence lost against Pakistan and put up a good total to consolidate their top position in the group.

 Both India and Pakistan now have to beat South Africa to create chances for Pakistan. But not only this, Pakistan will also have to pray that Bangladesh defeat Zimbabwe while Pakistan will also have to win their remaining matches with a good run rate.

Pakistan will have to face the same Perth conditions in the next match and it is not humanly possible for a player to change his footwork and technique in four days. Now, the one who has left Pakistan after making a journey, is only relying on him.

India's chances of reaching the semi-finals are bright. Although it will not be easy for the pace of Norkia and Rabada against South Africa in Perth, but for now the Indian team can bear the burden of a defeat and it is not far off that South Africa will also surprise India.

But with the defeatist mentality and fear that Pakistan have started their campaign with, even if they luckily reach the semi-finals, the trophy will still be out of reach.