All others are just common matches, this is the battle. India vs Pakistan is always been this, so many expectations, so much pressure on the players and so much noise. Cricket has become a way of representing the tension between the two neighbors. The situation was different when there were regular ODI and test series between the two but now when we don't have any series, no Pakistan players in IPL and no Indian player can play other T20 leagues, world cups are the only stages where we can watch the rivalry. This was the big day, I was waiting for this for a long time, for years to say, here it was yesterday.
Before the match
India had finished IPL just before the match and all the players were in form. In the two warm-up matches, India had beaten England and Australia two of the mightiest teams of the world cup. We thought we know the pitches very well, we now know every situation and every condition. The confidence was high as it should be.
In Worldcups, India had been never defeated by Pakistan before last night. In seven encounters in T20 world, we had won all sevens, including the ball-out win in the first match of the first T20 WorldCup. So we wanted to repeat the history, we didn't want to give them any chance to celebrate. TV anchors were high, they were publicizing this more than anything. The Mauka-Mauka ad was on repeat on every channel. And I think they got the profit. About 1.5 crore people were watching it live on Hotstar.
But don't forget about the opposition team, cricket was off Pakistan for a long time, because of the way terrorism was rising, none wanted to visit Pakistan. So they shifted their home to UAE, this was the ground they beat Australia. So I can say Pakistan had played more matches on these grounds than India. They had the home advantage.
The weakness our opposition had was their batting. They don't have enough batting in the deep, if you got their openers out they are done. Fakhar can be a big name but after the top 3 they are scattered you can easily take them down and that's where India failed.
Toss
It was crystal clear that toss is going to play a huge role in the match. India won the warm-up matches chasing. The match was in Dubai, at that ground all the matches were won by teams batting second in IPL except the final. Dew was a factor there, the pitch is such that it was always going to be easier to bat as the game goes on. Scoring would be easy in the later half and India lost the toss. The chances of winning were reduced there only. Babar took the very right decision of bowling first. Giving us the chance to put the runs.
But could the team be better? First of all the pitches are spin-friendly so I thought India would go as two-pacers-three-spinners combination. But they did, they chose three pacers. Ashwin was left out, Ashwin the bowler who was on fire in the last warm-up match was left out. But the team looked very good on paper. Look at the opposition, they had three spinners as the part-timer Hafeez is a spinner.
Shaheen's starting spell
When I started to watch the match Rohit Sharma was on strike and Shaheen Afridi was bowling. He bowled a full delivery it came in sharply in the air and hit Sharma on the pad. I was disappointed at the right moment. I thought we lost. Later in the third over, Shaheen scattered the stumps to send KL Rahul back. Rohit was a pray of mother of all inswinging yorkers and KL Rahul was beaten by a furious unplayable inswinging length ball.
Shaheen's intentions were clear from the first ball to use the swing as much as possible. He has got the pace, he has got the swing. Let me tell you this youngster is in the legacy of Waqar-Shoeb-Amir. The next big name in the fast bowling world.
With the spinner as well Pakistan always looked to attack. Surya looked in good touch, he even hit a six to a short ball off shahin when he was high on heels. And there was a fielder in the deep square too, he hit above his head. I thought in his first WorldCup match, Surya is going to shine. But Hasan got him caught behind as Rizwan took a stunner. His feet were glued to the ground.
I don't really make wishes to god that India win, but this time I did. I asked God that will India win this match today and I kind of get the answer- 'yup, India will win!!'
Pant and Kohli's Inning
I had very expectations from Virat. He looked very determined and focused. He took the pressure on his shoulders and hold the wicket on one end. He hit a beautiful six off Shahin. Some good looking cover-drives and it was a joy to watch him.
My favorite inning of the night was Rishabh's. When he came to bat, India was under sheer pressure, and when he got out India was aiming the par score. He played a wonderful knock under pressure. He took his time in the beginning and played a lot of dot balls, singles, and doubles. But his shots were both watching. He played an amazing cut shot to Shadab, very late closely watching the ball and it was worth a diamond.
He gained momentum when he took on Hasan Ali for two consecutive one-handed sixes. The second one down the ground was an absolute beauty. In the next over when Shadab came to bowl, he was so afraid that he bowled two wides down the leg side. Pant was looking furious, this was the right thing to do I think, if the bowler is losing his line and length you should take him on and he did. But unfortunately, he got the top edge and Shadab caught it.
Kohli went on batting and got a fifty but he failed to give a good finish, he got out early and Hardik and Jadeja failed. They got a good 19th over as Shaheen bowled a no-ball and they got 5 runs overthrown but the last over they didn't score. They finished 151/7 twenty runs short.
The Very Good Chase
Pakistan has a weak batting side, so the total looked defendable if you try well. But they got a good start. Unlike Shaheen, Bhuvi didn't go full, he didn't go attacking searching the swing. He was defensive in mindset, and he got picked up by Rizwan. He bowled short and got hit in the first over. And the confidence went high.
Every bowler had the same situation. They bowled short and both the opener, they hit short balls very beautifully. Dew came into factor later when the spinner was unable to grip the ball properly. Their lengths were not getting right and the Pakistani batter was hitting them comfortably for sixes/
Here is an advice for all if you are defending in Dubai, start with spin. Their overs are wasted in the dew. Both the openers paced the chase very well, we tried to put them under pressure by bowling dot balls but we failed, they kept scoring by singles and doubles instead of boundaries.
In the last overs, we were in no chance to defend the total. Shami went on and said, give me the ball and I will finish it off, and he finished it well.
The Lessons
1. The first lesson is that never underestimate your opposition. Indias often underestimate Pakistan, we make mauka-mauka ads, and so on. We should not make jokes about them they have shown us on our faces. You make jokes in ads we make jokes on the field.
2. Look at the mirror. I mean your bowling failed very badly. I know the dew and pitch factor but think, can't the Indian team pick even one wicket. Hardik is not bowling, he is not timing the ball well, he is facing some shoulder issue, he is not in good touch so why don't we keep him out. He is now bowling so he is just a batter and I think Ishan Kishan would be a batter option as a batter. Even Shardul Thakur is better than him.
3. Smile even in hard conditions, everything will sort out. I was just looking at Md Rizwan. How happy he was before the match. If you are in good mood, you do better on the field. And the way he batted was amazing very well batting. And when he got fifty he thanked Allah.
4. Not every time will you win. Before the match, India had beaten Pakistan in every encounter but the history was made last night. You should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Even India failed at the big stage so you can fail too... train hard and hard never be overconfident. Never rest never entertain yourself until you get the Target.
With that, I am saying goodbye for now. If you liked this post, tell me in the comment section. And do check out my other posts. I make a post every Thursday, If you check on Friday you will get a new post. Please visit my blog ragularly. It gives me a lot of confidence. I am not enough courageous to make Youtube videos. I just write my thoughts here. So you have to google my name to reach me -iashyam.
Thank You
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