Mohammad Rizwan breaks down where it went wrong for Pakistan against India 

There is only a flicker of hope remaining for hosts Pakistan at the Champions Trophy, who are now relying solely on other results to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals.

As the trophy holders from 2017, they’ll now likely have to focus on planning how to build back to the top of the world in ODI cricket.

That process will involve answering tough questions, which began with captain Mohammad Rizwan in the post-match press conference, after his team’s loss to India in Dubai.

Rizwan reiterated that his team is not far behind the likes of India and New Zealand, the two outfits they have lost to at the Champions Trophy. In his honest assessment, he accepted that “mistakes” continue to be the difference between winning and losing.

“When you lose, you have a difficult day, difficult things come up, questions come up,” he said.

“All three departments have made mistakes. That's why we are losing the match.

“Look, honestly, we made the same mistake that we have been making in the past with four matches. Maybe they were more brave than us. And that's why they got this result. And we made mistakes.”

After opting to bat first, Rizwan’s line-up struggled to score aggressive runs in the middle overs, which would ultimately prove costly.

Pakistan’s skipper came to the crease in the 10th over, with his side at 47/2 and plenty to work with. He helped put on 104 runs for the third wicket, alongside Saud Shakeel, but the scoring pace proved costly.

Rizwan made 46 off 77 balls, while Saud scored 62 off 76. And once that pair were removed, India took consistent wickets, restricting Pakistan to a total of 241 that was chased down with 45 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.

“Me and Saud tried to build a partnership and it took a lot of time,” he continued.

“But after that, the shot selection was poor and that’s where they got a chance to take our wickets. After that, our middle order maybe couldn’t (handle) the pressure and we couldn’t manage.

“The middle order was not good enough. As far as the match is concerned, you are disappointed of course.”

Pakistan will keep a close eye on Monday’s game, hoping Bangladesh beat New Zealand and leave Group A contestable for another handful of days. Otherwise, it’ll be the Kiwis joining India in qualifying for the semi-finals.

The Champions Trophy hosts now return to home soil from Dubai in preparation for Thursday’s showdown against the Tigers. India, meanwhile, will take on New Zealand in the final Group stage game on Sunday, March 2.