Middle-order should have played with a ‘do or die’ mindset: Wasim Akram on India''s World Cup final loss

Wasim Akram blames Indian middle-order for lack of intent in WC final, says they should've played with "do or die" mindset. Skipper Rohit Sharma's attacking approach praised. Akram suggests bringing in Siraj ahead of Shami could've worked better. He believes teams should stick to what's been working for them in big games.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Wasim Akram blamed the Indian middle-order for lack of intent, leading to the side's defeat in the World Cup final against Australia on November 19 in Ahmedabad.

Batting first, India posted a modest total of 240 in 50 overs. While skipper-cum-opener Rohit Sharma (47) and Virat Kohli (54) were a hit at the top order, KL Rahul (66) was the only success in the middle-order.

Analysing the situation, Akram felt that although pressure was on Rahul to play a composed innings, he also sensed that the middle-order batters could have approached the game with a "do or die" mindset.

“I suppose the middle-order should have played with a ‘do or die’ mindset. I can understand what was going through Rahul’s mind, that there was no batting to come after (Ravindra) Jadeja and that he had to bat deep, and batting deep meant he couldn’t take risks of getting out," he told Star Sports.

"If Hardik was in the team, he (Rahul) probably would've taken that risk. But, if he had taken a risk and gotten out in this situation, then people would have criticised him for that as well." "If they had kept pace and scored quickly in the middle overs, then it would have been a different ball game," he added.

For the Men in Blue, Rohit finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer after Kohli, thanks to his attacking intent.

Meanwhile, Akram attested that the captain was right to move ahead with his attacking approach in the final, as it had given him success throughout the tournament.