“We’ll go back to the drawing board and we’ll hopefully come back a lot stronger”

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Despite expressing concerns after Pakistan were thrashed by 124 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in their clash with arch-rivals India, Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has backed his side to rebound in their next two group stage matches.

In a match that was affected by rain on a regular basis, Pakistan looked out of their depth and India took full advantage to begin their Champions Trophy campaign on a high.

Pakistan failed to deliver when batting, bowling and fielding, and Arthur admitted that his side crumbled under the pressure of the occasion.

“Was it the size of the occasion? Possibly … I think very definitely,” he said after the game on Sunday. “To have a performance as tentative as that right from the start is a worry. The only thing I can think is the magnitude of the situation got to them. It’s the simplicity of those things that are worrying me at the moment and our understanding of when to do certain things. That was disappointing but we’ll bounce back from it.

“We’ll have a good, hard chat tonight and when we leave the dressing room tonight it will all be done. 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.

“It’s up to me and my coaching staff to find out why we didn’t execute. We’ll go back to the drawing board and we’ll hopefully come back a lot stronger.”

Pakistan will take on South Africa on Wednesday before going on to play Sri Lanka on June 12.