Pandya's emergence — biggest takeaway from India's tense win over Pak

Recent clashes between India and Pakistan have tended to be remarkably one-sided. In the 2019 50-over World Cup in Manchester, for instance, the Indians buried their celebrated rivals under an avalanche of runs, rattling up 336 for five and romping to a commanding 89-run victory. More recently, in Dubai ten months ago, Pakistan broke their World Cup duck against India, storming to a ten-wicket triumph in the T20 version to exorcise the ghosts of a 12-match winless streak in faceoffs at global competitions.

Against this backdrop, Sunday’s pow-wow at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium was a genuine thriller that went down to the last over. If ever the Asia Cup was looking for an early fillip, the traditional rivals provided that with a true humdinger that wasn’t qualitatively of the highest order, but which microcosmed the ebbs and flows of the 20-over shootout to a nicety.

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This was a match marred by mistakes and tentativeness, diffidence and a touch of the timid. One man stood head and shoulders above the rest with his calmness under pressure, his surety of touch, his poise and composure, his reading of the situations and an immense belief in his own ability that has seen him shed the morass of an uncertain past and approach the future with self-confidence that comes to so few.

A new and stronger Pandya

Hardik Pandya’s stirring all-round show proved how minuscule the difference between the teams is in a format designed to automatically bridge the gulf in class between opponents. Not so long back, there were genuine concerns over whether the younger Pandya would ever be the bankable bowling option he once was until a back injury necessitated him to go under the surgeon’s knife in London three winters ago. Now, Pandya has emerged stronger, if not faster, more rounded and therefore a lot more of a potent bowling force whose understanding of his bowling and unshakable faith in his propensity to go short has been amply rewarded in the last two months.

Particularly in white-ball cricket, Pandya is almost two cricketers rolled into one. He is one of the most destructive batsmen in the limited-overs game, capable of both building an innings if he walks into a crisis or teeing off almost from the beginning if he strides in with the top order having done its job and the end of the innings is beckoning. This versatility in embracing either role with equal felicity alone is a priceless gift; that he is now confident enough of bowling four good overs in each T20 contest adds further gloss to an already exceptional cricketer whose athletic ability is second to none.

Sunday called for a calm head and smart decision-making, both of which go hand in glove. That these demands came so early in such an important competition, and against an opponent as storied as Pakistan with whom India have such a compelling history, meant nerves of steel had to fuse with tackling a high-class bowling attack with a broad bat, a stout heart and an unflagging desire to win. Pandya showcased all these virtues in the space of four enervating hours, fittingly smashing the winning six off left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz which muscled India past the winning post.

In real terms, this was probably the least significant of the three potential India-Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup. Admittedly, it was important to get off to a good start, but the stakes weren’t so high – inasmuch as that is possible in India vs Pakistan showdowns – as they will be later on. Barring the catastrophic, India and Pakistan will advance to the Super 4s from Group A at the expense of Hong Kong, which means next Sunday’s Act Two will hold a lot more significance as it will directly impact qualification to the September 11 final. Should both teams make their way to that destination, then on the line will be the Asia Cup, a competition India have won seven times and Pakistan surprisingly just once.

Fans all the way

Try telling that to the fans, though. The Dubai stadium was bursting at the seams long before the first ball was bowled. Spectators started lining up outside the venue a good four hours prior to the start of play, making light of the searing sun and stringent security that was oh-so-obvious and yet anything but overbearing. The din and cacophony reached a crescendo when Rohit Sharma won the toss and remained at its peak for the duration of the gripping contest until Pandya brought the roof down with his final statement against Nawaz.

India will take the win gladly, but they will also know that the match could so easily have gone the other way. They weren’t given an opportunity to test out their new commitment to daredevilry through a combination of outstanding Pakistani bowling and a tacky, two-paced surface where hitting through the line was fraught with danger and where the bounce was occasionally unpredictable. In, however, tailoring their approach to the demands the conditions placed, they reiterated their adaptability and dispelled lingering fears that their gung-ho attitude would come at the expense of the game situation.

Short ball does the trick

Pandya’s short-ball barrage which broke the back of the Pakistani middle order was just the thrust India’s excellent, if not first-choice, pace attack needed as, for the first time in T20Is, the quicks accounted for all ten opposition wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at once both frugal and incisive while Arshdeep Singh lost just a bit of control right at the end, when India were punished for a poor over rate and penalised when an additional fielder was forced to occupy the inner ring. But there were plenty of positives on the bowling front, especially considering Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar will be back in the mix soon.

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There was, though, less joy as far as the batting was concerned. KL Rahul lasted just one ball, offering no indication of what touch he was in, while Virat Kohli, coming off a long break, was chancy and definitely jittery. He did top-score but this isn’t an innings Kohli will look back with any great joy. For feel-good, though, 35 isn’t that bad, so that’s something to build on during the rest of the tournament.