At Panipat, the Maratha army suffered from a fatal lack of coordination and centralized command. While Sadashivrao Bhau was the nominal leader, he struggled to unify the different sardars, who often disagreed on strategy. The departure of traditional guerrilla tactics for a fixed, conventional battle—combined with a fragmented leadership—prevented the Marathas from executing a cohesive plan against Abdali. ANSWER: (B) Lack of centralized command