Billed as the 'Mother of all Contests', & fraught with bitter rivalries over generations of cricket, this match between India & Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester was expected to be a humdinger, but it turned out to be quite a damp squib, as Pakistan surrendered to a much superior Indian outfit, under overcast conditions.
The match did have some tense passage of time, when Pakistan showed signs of an able contest, but those were far flung & had very little outcome on the final results, as India romped home with a 89 run victory by the D/L method, in a rain curtailed saga.
Winning the toss, Pakistan Capt Sarfaraz surprisingly put India into bat, expecting his bowlers to exploit the overcast conditions on a flat track, which promised loads of runs. Md Amir held one end up with some excellent length & pace, beating the bat consistently, but the other bowlers eased the pressure spraying short length freebies & the Indian openers Rohit & Rahul exulted in scoring freely without having to take any risks. Rohit scored breezily at more than run a ball reaching his fifty in just 35 balls, while Rahul, having replaced the injured Shikhar, was more sedate, lacing the innings with some fine drives & pulls. When Rahul finally spooned Wahab to mid off for a well constructed 57 runs in the 24th over, India had already laid a solid foundation with a 136 runs opening partnership, & Pakistan were left facing a long leather hunt. They would rue the missed chance of running Rohit out in the 11th over, when the Indian opener was caught in a misunderstanding with Rahul stealing a single.
Next in Virat, a master of such situations, stitched another 104 runs partnership with Rohit, without really accelerating, as Rohit, batting beautifully, raced to his century in just 85 deliveries in the 30th over. With scorecard reading 234 runs in the 39th over, India looked in complete command & Pakistan in prayers for some redemption, when Rohit, gave away his wicket, trying to scoop past short fine leg, but not before a fantastic innings of 140 runs - he was livid with himself, having given away an opportunity to score a possible double hundred !!
In walked Pandya, as Virat stepped up the tempo, but despite some flourish, the innings stuttered a bit, as Md Amir, coming back into the attack, yet again put brakes in the scoring, & the Indian middle order could muster only 38 runs on the last five overs. Stoppage of play due to rains, seemed to affect the Indian rhythm, as Pandya went for a quickfire 26, while Dhoni edged behind for one & Kohli in trying to step on the pedal, went out caught behind for a finely crafted 77 runs(not sure he had nicked, as also confirmed by the replays !!). Vijay Shankar & Kedar Jadhav, slogged some, as India ended the innings at 336 for 5 - a huge target for Pakistan to climb.
Coming out to chase, Pakistan were delivered with some unexpected good news, as strike Indian bowler Bhuvi, hobbled out with a hamstring pull during the 5th over. But the cheers in the green camp died immediately, as change bowler Vijay Shankar, coming into complete the over, got opener Imam out LBW, - his very first delivery in a World Cup, as Pakistan lost their 1st wicket. Next man Babar Azam, along with Fakhar Zaman, then steadied the innings, with some intelligent & purposeful batting, taking the fight to the opposition camp. However, though they stitched up a 104 runs partnership, to raise some hopes for Pakistan, they never really threatened, as the disciplined Indian bowling did not give them anything loose & the asking run rate kept creeping up under the D/L method. Pakistan's best moment was when they reached 113 for 1 at the end of 23 overs, marginally behind the DLS par score. But just when they looked like causing some concerns to India, left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav spun a beauty, to clean bowl Babar Azam, leaving him stranded at 48 runs - stuff that dream deliveries are made of & the floodgates opened up.
Fakhar reached a well made fifty, but was taken out next, again by Kuldeep, luring into a false sweep & lobbing a simple catch at leg slip, as the Indians fielders were cock a hoop. Pandya followed this up with two wickets in the very next over, Hafeez holing out in the deep & Shoaib out to a golden duck, as Pakistan were left tottering at a dismal 129 for 5 at the end of 27 overs, needing another 173 runs in just 78 deliveries, with the asking rate well over 9 runs.
Viajay Shankar took out the Pakistan Capt Sarfaraz in the 34th over, caught behind, with score at 165 for 6, as the skies opened up to save further ignominy. The game was finally abandoned after 40 overs, as D/L method declared India as winners by 89 runs - it was the seventh consecutive victory over bitter neighbour rivals in World Cup !!. HitMan Rohit Sharma was the deserving Man of Match.
Indian camp have some to worry but a lot to cheer; - injury to Shikhar & Bhuvi is some concern, but the reserve bench gives a whole lot of hope & encouragement; batting looks good & elegant, with the top order firing all cylinders & middle order looking compact; the lethal bowling of Bumrah & Bhuvi & the spin combination of Chahal & Yadav assures wickets, while the fielding looks sorted & sprightly - all augurs well for the Men in Blue, as they surge ahead. Vijay Shankar, despite debut in World Cup in such a pressure match, was a revelation & looks a promising prospect for India ahead. Amidst all this, Virat has reached the milestone of 11K ODI runs in just 230 matches, becoming the fastest to do so, eclipsing Sachin to take the pole position.
For Pakistan, it was a rather poor performance, as they never really looked assertive & in the game, barring splendid bowling by Amir & a brief period of batting by Babar & Fakhar. Having won only one game till now, they have an uphill task ahead, needing to win all their remaining matches, if they were to look at a semis spot.
On a lighter note, some snippets for the laughs -
The match did have some tense passage of time, when Pakistan showed signs of an able contest, but those were far flung & had very little outcome on the final results, as India romped home with a 89 run victory by the D/L method, in a rain curtailed saga.
Winning the toss, Pakistan Capt Sarfaraz surprisingly put India into bat, expecting his bowlers to exploit the overcast conditions on a flat track, which promised loads of runs. Md Amir held one end up with some excellent length & pace, beating the bat consistently, but the other bowlers eased the pressure spraying short length freebies & the Indian openers Rohit & Rahul exulted in scoring freely without having to take any risks. Rohit scored breezily at more than run a ball reaching his fifty in just 35 balls, while Rahul, having replaced the injured Shikhar, was more sedate, lacing the innings with some fine drives & pulls. When Rahul finally spooned Wahab to mid off for a well constructed 57 runs in the 24th over, India had already laid a solid foundation with a 136 runs opening partnership, & Pakistan were left facing a long leather hunt. They would rue the missed chance of running Rohit out in the 11th over, when the Indian opener was caught in a misunderstanding with Rahul stealing a single.
Next in Virat, a master of such situations, stitched another 104 runs partnership with Rohit, without really accelerating, as Rohit, batting beautifully, raced to his century in just 85 deliveries in the 30th over. With scorecard reading 234 runs in the 39th over, India looked in complete command & Pakistan in prayers for some redemption, when Rohit, gave away his wicket, trying to scoop past short fine leg, but not before a fantastic innings of 140 runs - he was livid with himself, having given away an opportunity to score a possible double hundred !!
In walked Pandya, as Virat stepped up the tempo, but despite some flourish, the innings stuttered a bit, as Md Amir, coming back into the attack, yet again put brakes in the scoring, & the Indian middle order could muster only 38 runs on the last five overs. Stoppage of play due to rains, seemed to affect the Indian rhythm, as Pandya went for a quickfire 26, while Dhoni edged behind for one & Kohli in trying to step on the pedal, went out caught behind for a finely crafted 77 runs(not sure he had nicked, as also confirmed by the replays !!). Vijay Shankar & Kedar Jadhav, slogged some, as India ended the innings at 336 for 5 - a huge target for Pakistan to climb.
Coming out to chase, Pakistan were delivered with some unexpected good news, as strike Indian bowler Bhuvi, hobbled out with a hamstring pull during the 5th over. But the cheers in the green camp died immediately, as change bowler Vijay Shankar, coming into complete the over, got opener Imam out LBW, - his very first delivery in a World Cup, as Pakistan lost their 1st wicket. Next man Babar Azam, along with Fakhar Zaman, then steadied the innings, with some intelligent & purposeful batting, taking the fight to the opposition camp. However, though they stitched up a 104 runs partnership, to raise some hopes for Pakistan, they never really threatened, as the disciplined Indian bowling did not give them anything loose & the asking run rate kept creeping up under the D/L method. Pakistan's best moment was when they reached 113 for 1 at the end of 23 overs, marginally behind the DLS par score. But just when they looked like causing some concerns to India, left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav spun a beauty, to clean bowl Babar Azam, leaving him stranded at 48 runs - stuff that dream deliveries are made of & the floodgates opened up.
Fakhar reached a well made fifty, but was taken out next, again by Kuldeep, luring into a false sweep & lobbing a simple catch at leg slip, as the Indians fielders were cock a hoop. Pandya followed this up with two wickets in the very next over, Hafeez holing out in the deep & Shoaib out to a golden duck, as Pakistan were left tottering at a dismal 129 for 5 at the end of 27 overs, needing another 173 runs in just 78 deliveries, with the asking rate well over 9 runs.
Viajay Shankar took out the Pakistan Capt Sarfaraz in the 34th over, caught behind, with score at 165 for 6, as the skies opened up to save further ignominy. The game was finally abandoned after 40 overs, as D/L method declared India as winners by 89 runs - it was the seventh consecutive victory over bitter neighbour rivals in World Cup !!. HitMan Rohit Sharma was the deserving Man of Match.
Indian camp have some to worry but a lot to cheer; - injury to Shikhar & Bhuvi is some concern, but the reserve bench gives a whole lot of hope & encouragement; batting looks good & elegant, with the top order firing all cylinders & middle order looking compact; the lethal bowling of Bumrah & Bhuvi & the spin combination of Chahal & Yadav assures wickets, while the fielding looks sorted & sprightly - all augurs well for the Men in Blue, as they surge ahead. Vijay Shankar, despite debut in World Cup in such a pressure match, was a revelation & looks a promising prospect for India ahead. Amidst all this, Virat has reached the milestone of 11K ODI runs in just 230 matches, becoming the fastest to do so, eclipsing Sachin to take the pole position.
For Pakistan, it was a rather poor performance, as they never really looked assertive & in the game, barring splendid bowling by Amir & a brief period of batting by Babar & Fakhar. Having won only one game till now, they have an uphill task ahead, needing to win all their remaining matches, if they were to look at a semis spot.
On a lighter note, some snippets for the laughs -
- Virat lost the toss
- In form Shikhar was out with injury
- Bhuvi also came off early with a hamstring
- Rohit gifted his wicket (also gave an early chance to run him out)
- Virat walked off without being out
- Babar was out, but we did'nt ask for review
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