12th Indian win in 14 ICC matches against Pakistan
Birmingham: India’s top-order fired, the bowlers bowled a nagging length and line as they continued to maintain their stranglehold on Pakistan in ICC-run tournaments with a thumping 124-run (D/L method) victory at the Edgbaston ground here today. This was India’s 12th win over Pakistan in 14 matches of ICC tournaments.
If there was one aspect of the Indian performance which left a little bit of bitterness in the mouth then it was their fielding. They however proved the proverb ‘catches win matches’ wrong. They dropped three, conceded at least four boundaries due to shoddy efforts, yet came up with some brilliant pieces of inspirational fielding when it mattered the most – the highlight being Ravindra Jadeja’s run out of India’s son-in-law Shoaib Malik, with a direct throw from point.
India put in by Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed scored 319 for three after the innings had been reduced to 48 overs each. Then after more rain delays had Pakistan’s victory target set at 289 in 41 overs, the Men in Blue dismissed the opposition for 164 with last man Wahab Riaz not batting due to an injury.
The top-order fired brilliantly with all four Rohit Sharma (91, 119b, 7×4, 2×6), Shikhar Dhawan (68, 65b, 6×4, 1×6), Virat Kohli (81, 68b, 6×4, 3×6) and man of the match Yuvraj Singh (53, 32b, 8×4, 1×6) – all getting half centuries. Not to forget the Hardik Pandya’s (20, 8b, 3×6) cameo though. He hit left-arm spinner Imad Wasim for three sixes in the 48th over to take India past the 300-run mark. In the end, the score of 319 proved crucial as anything less would have certainly made Pakistan’s task a lot easier after the implementation of the D/L method.
India-Pakistan games are more about control over nerves, the utmost desire to win and aggressive attitude. India were better on all three aspects, add to that Kohli’s captaincy and one will get the perfect package. While Kohli utilised all his bowlers in short spells with very good field placings, Ahmed lagged a lot in innovation. He will forever rue his decision to use Wasim in the last over as the bowler went for 23 runs and it was then only the match slipped away from Pakistan’s grasp.
Dhawan hit the first salvo for India with a dominating innings, a knock full of brashness that North Indians reserve for their ‘friends’ on the other side of the Wagah. It enabled Rohit to settle down and he played a gem, with the elegant lazy off-drives pleasing to the eye. The two put on 136 for the first wicket which helped India take firm control.
Kohli and Rohit added 56 for the second wicket, but more importantly, it was Yuvi’s innings that was the turning point. In every game there are some crucial junctures and one of them was the Yuvi-Kohli ‘jugalbandi’. The left-hander simply tore apart the Pak attack and gave the Indian innings the tempo it needed. When he came in India were on 192 for two with little less than 12 overs left, when he left after 9.4 overs, leg-before to a Hasan Ali yorker, India were close to 300 which Pandya promptly achieved.
Pakistan were never in the hunt chasing a target of 289 in 41 overs. Only Azhar Ali (50, 65b, 6×4) tried to offer some resistance. But the others just could not handle the pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/23), Umesh Yadav (3/30) and Pandya (2/43) the spin of Jadeja (2/43).
As said earlier, there are always some deciding moments in every game, moments that one needs to win to win. India grabbed all when they had those chances, the catch by Pandya to send back Azhar, the run out of Malik, the fine running catch by Bhuvneshwar to send back the experienced Mohammed Hafeez and the innings of Yuvraj and Pandya.
India did not beat Pakistan, they simply decimated them.
Agencies
