India stutter with both bat and ball in 2nd half as resilient Pak prevail in last over
A stuttering second-half performance with bat and ball, and in the field, has left India within one defeat of elimination from the Asia Cup. Pakistan’s resilience and their ability to ride the early punches took them to a famous victory on Sunday night, putting the onus squarely on Rohit Sharma’s men to do the running in their two remaining Super 4 matches against Sri Lanka (Tuesday) and Afghanistan (Thursday).
A match that began with a thrilling display of fireworks from Rohit and KL Rahul ended in bitter disappointment as the Dubai International Cricket Stadium’s reputation of favouring the team chasing received another fillip. This ought to have been India’s game had they built gainfully on a blistering half-century opening stand, but a rare middle-order meltdown meant they finished a few short of both what was required and what they promised.
Pak’s masterstroke
On another night, 181 for seven might have been sufficient, but Pakistan weren’t going to roll over for the second Sunday in a row, not even after another failure for their inspirational captain Babar Azam. In a game of small margins, Pakistan showed a little more composure and smarts than their counterparts. The decision to promote the left-handed Mohammad Nawaz to No. 4 turning out to be a masterstroke.
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Nawaz has made a name for himself with his accurate, unglamourous left-arm spin, but he revealed a new facet to his cricket with an exceptional knock replete with power-packed strokes. His spell of four for 25 was one of the main reasons India could make only 88 in the last ten overs despite having eight wickets in hand, but it was his 20-ball 42 which sent the seven-time Asia Cup winners scurrying for cover. India seemed unprepared for his calculated onslaught which, coupled with Mohammad Rizwan’s spunk and feist, hauled a stumbling chase spectacularly back on track.
It didn’t help India’s cause that two of their five main bowlers, Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal, had an off-day. Pandya received an unwelcome reminder of the vagaries of cricket. The hero of India’s five-wicket win in the first fixture between the sides a week back fell for a second-ball duck and conceded 44 in his four overs. All his three wickets in his Player of the Match performance the previous Sunday had come through short deliveries but Pakistan had done their homework and came well-equipped to counter that barrage; a victory for backroom work that often has such a significant influence on the developments on the field.
Virat, Rahul back in form
It was not all doom and gloom for the vanquished. The intent shown by Rahul and the intensity of Virat Kohli were definite positives and a vindication of the team management’s faith in these two seasoned batsmen who have been through the wars of late. Rahul’s cameo went a long way towards exploding fears over his suitability to India’s revamped attitude towards T20 cricket, whereas Kohli, hesitant against Pakistan and only slightly more fluent against Hong Kong, rolled the clock back in a vintage display of ferocious ball-striking and fabulous running between the wickets, effortlessly downgrading from enforcer to anchor once the wickets tumbled towards the middle of the innings.
India’s unforgiving takedown of the Pakistani pace attack of Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf was little short of exhilarating. Fire was met with a more raging variant of the same element and Pakistan were left clutching at straws, taken aback by the audacity of Rohit and Rahul to whom 145 kmph seemed to hold little value. Their gob-smacked reactions as the ball sailed back over the bowlers’ heads and into the sightscreen perfectly illustrated the high quality of batsmanship of India’s openers, which is exactly why 181 didn’t seem to do justice to the frenetic start to the essay.
Nawaz’s pyrotechnics
Rohit and Rahul have, in the past, showcased their awe-inspiring batting but the cricket world beyond Pakistan’s domestic stage had seen little of Nawaz in front of the stumps. With the required rate in excess of 10 and India’s two leg-spinners in operation, Nawaz’s principal job was to take on the boundary and perhaps make a quickfire 20. He went better, smashing six fours and two sixes, each one struck cleanly and off the middle of the bat, to bring a demanding run-chase down to manageable proportions.
In Rizwan, who feasts on the Indian bowling, he found an intelligent partner who put physical discomfort aside to run superbly – the boundary on one side was significantly longer than the other, meaning that the scope for twos was very genuine – and feed his junior, less celebrated mate, as much of the strike as possible. Nawaz’s elevation also meant Pakistan had plenty of firepower in the tank should things get tight towards the end, as they invariably do in modern-day T20 cricket.
Notwithstanding the ebullient 72-run third-wicket stand, India stormed back into contention by pushing the equation to 35 needed off 19 when Pandya saw the back of Rizwan. Catastrophe struck in the next over. On zero, Asif Ali’s wild hoick off recalled leggie Ravi Bishnoi looped unthreateningly towards Arshdeep Singh at short third-man, but the young man seemed to take it far too easy, muffing a sitter to mixed reactions – groans and applause – from a 24,000 strong crowd.
Asif made India pay with 16 off only eight deliveries. Didn’t we say slender margins?
Over-rate worries
If there is one area India can’t afford to slip up in, it is in their over-rate. For the second game in a row against Pakistan, they didn’t complete their overs in time. Resultantly, seven runs in the last over with five fielders in the 30-yard circle meant there would be only one winner even before Arshdeep marked out his run-up.
Also read: India, Pakistan fined for slow-over rate in their Asia Cup opener
Sri Lanka on Tuesday might seem less daunting than Pakistan, but the 2014 T20 World Cup champions have rediscovered their mojo after finding themselves on the brink of elimination in the group stage and have now put together two wins on the bounce. If India aren’t switched on, Dasun Shanaka’s band will punish them, make no mistake. The onus is on Rohit and Rahul Dravid to rouse their troops out of their slumber and crank them up for the first of two must-win games.
