How India Won: India crushed Pakistan in the World Cup face off. An analysis
It’s billed as cricket’s greatest rivalry but the India-Pakistan clash was a ‘No Contest’ on Sunday. With their big guns firing with the bat and the bowling sharpening its attack when needed, India was simply too powerful, too clinical for Pakistan, beating them by 89 runs via the DLS method. India comfortably outclassed Pakistan in virtually all departments of the game – batting, bowling, fielding and even captaincy.
After days of suspense over the weather, when the captains went out to toss, Virat Kohli was saved the trauma of decision making as Pakistan won the toss and put India into bat. As it turned out, the toss was the only thing Pakistan won in this encounter – but it might have been better to lose. Like Kohli in the Champions Trophy final in 2017, Sarfaraz chose to bowl, ignoring the advice of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan is also the country’s only captain to win the World Cup, had tweeted that batting first would be a huge advantage in the high-voltage clash against India.
Having got the chance to bat first, India flexed its batting muscle despite the absence of Shikhar Dhawan. A sedate start meant a maiden first over by Mohammed Amir but gradually both openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul flowered into fluent stroke-making, aided no less by the length and width provided by Pakistan bowlers.
Rohit was especially brutal on anything pitched short and took on Hasan Ali early, pulling him for a six over deep mid-wicket. He was a bit lucky that a couple of his inside edges went to the boundary. There was a big reprieve in the 10th over when Rohit was stranded halfway down the pitch but Fakhar Zaman threw the ball at the wrong right end handing him another chance on the platter.
As Rohit and Rahul overcame early jitters and stitched together a delightful 137 run opening stand, India was well on the way to posting a challenging total. Though the wayward Wahab Riaz, bowling round the wicket after 2 warnings for running on the pitch, got lucky when Rahul spooned a catch to covers, but a solid foundation had already been laid.
After the Indian Captain came to the crease, the Rohit-Kohli duo put on a commanding show. As usual, Kohli dominated the bowling from the very start and was in firm control without playing any loose shots. At the other end, Rohit brought up his 3rd fastest century in 85 balls. By now Pakistan was in disarray and seemed bereft of ideas.
But just when everyone thought there was a 4th double hundred in offing, Rohit gifted away his wicket after scoring a superb 140 by scooping to short fine leg. Kohli then took charge of the innings scoring 77 at run a ball and ensured that India reached an unbeatable total. Virat’s knock and Hardik’s cameo helped India post 336 which in the end proved to be too tall a mountain for the men in green to climb. India’s splendid batting was aided by a disappointing bowling effort by Pakistan, except for Mohammed Amir who bowled superbly. The pitch map shows that Pakistani bowlers were often either short or too short of a length, the reason they went for plenty despite the early assistance. Poor fielding and unimaginative captaincy by Sarfaraz further worsened Pakistan’s plight.
As Pakistan began its response, India was unlucky to lose Bhuvneshwar early. But Bhuvi’s hamstring stiffness led to the first dismissal in freak fashion. As he limped off after bowling just 2.4 overs, Vijay Shankar was asked to complete the over and he struck the first ball, trapping Imam-Ul-Haq through an LBW. While Shikhar Dhawan’s injury had pushed him into the team, Bhuvi’s injury also proved to be a blessing in disguise for Vijay as he got rid of Imam with his debut delivery in the World Cup and pushed Pakistan’s chase on the back foot.
A partnership of over a hundred between Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam for the 2nd wicket was the lone bright spot. But given Pakistan’s slow start, the duo realised that they were so far behind the required rate that they had to start upping the ante right from the 20th over. Though they got 26 runs between overs 21 to 23, Babar was soon castled by a peach of a delivery from Kuldeep Yadav. It spun sharply from outside the off stump, bamboozled Babar, found a gap between bat and pad and pegged back the stumps. India had broken the door open.
In the next 4 overs, Pakistan lost 3 more wickets with very little on board and this decisive blow killed any hope that they had of making it a close contest. When rain interrupted play at the 35th over mark, the score read 166 for 6 with Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed too back in the hut after a paltry 12 of 30 balls. After the play resumed, the target was revised to 302 runs of 40 oversway beyond Pakistan’s reach and one which needed a run rate of over 27. The Indians completed the formalities and won comprehensively. Team India is now clearly on a winning roll, their 3rd win and the manner in which they outplayed their arch-rivals makes them one of the top favourites. Two points in India’s kitty and it looks set to go deep into the tournament with ease. Despite the injury worries over Shikhar and Bhuvi, India seems poised for greater feats.
Millions are now pondering over the most tantalizing question - Can Kohli repeat Kapil’s World Cup triumph? If the India-Pak match is any indication, Virat’s warriors sure seem to be in with a great chance.