India dished out a clinical performance to outplay Pakistan by 89 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis method and keep their perfect record intact against the arch-rivals in the ICC World Cup at Old Trafford on Sunday. Onmanorama picks five reasons for the Men in Blue’s thumping win.
1. Openers lay solid platform
How the Indian openers – Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul – fared against the Pakistan new-ball attack was always going to be vital in the outcome of the marquee clash. Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had no hesitation in asking India to take first strike in overcast conditions. Rahul, who was promoted up the order in place of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, and Rohit saw off the threat of Mohammad Amir and Hassan Ali. True, the two had a few lucky escapes in the early part of the innings, but every batsman needs the rub of the green going his way in order to survive on such tracks with a fair bit of assistance for the pacers. Rohit and Rahul were watchful to begin with before the former cut loose. Rohit’s aggressive approach meant Rahul could afford to take his time and the 136-run stand, the first century partnership for the opening wicket in an Indo-Pak World Cup tie, put the Men in Blue in the ascendancy.
2. Rohit cuts loose
After Rahul fell to Wahab Riaz after a well-played 57, Rohit continued the good work in the company of skipper Virat Kohli. He was particularly severe on the short-pitched balls, cutting and pulling with aplomb. The ploy of the Pakistan pacers, especially Ali and Wahab, to pepper the Indian vice-captain with short balls backfired big time. Rohit smashed his second hundred of this edition and the 24th ODI ton of his career off just 85 balls. Rohit put on 98 along with Kohli and his magnificent knock (140) meant pressure was always on the Pakistan bowlers.
3. Kohli turns it on
Kohli, who played second fiddle to Rohit, upped the ante once the latter got out in the 39th over. Hardik Pandya, who came in at No. 4 for the second game running, made a quick-fire 26 off 19 balls, and Kohli’s 65-ball 77 took India past the 300-run mark. The Indian captain also became the fastest to reach the 11,000-run mark in ODIs during the course of his knock.
4. Kuldeep comes to the party
Fakhar Zaman (62) and Babar Azam (48) kept Pakistan in the game in pursuit of 337 runs with a 104-run stand for the second wicket. The two played sensibly and mixed caution with aggression. However, left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav (2/32) provided the big breakthrough for the Indians by castling Babar with a superb ball which spun back sharply. Kuldeep, who raised his game on the big day, took out Zaman in the very next over to dash Pakistan’s hopes.
5. Tactical mistakes
Sarfaraz and the Pakistan team made a few tactical mistakes in the high-pressure game. In hindsight Pakistan would have been better off batting first as they are a side good at defending totals as they showed against England earlier in the competition. However, one can’t be too critical of the decision to bowl first as both captains were keen to put the opposition in to bat. Also there was the threat of rain and generally teams tend to chase in such a scenario. However, Sarfraz was let down by the pacers, especially Ali and Wahab as they failed to pitch the ball up consistently and did not make optimum use of the early moisture on the wicket.
Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, the two most senior players in the Pakistan side, had a forgettable outing. Both were hit out of the attack by Rohit and Rahul after one over each, while Hafeez managed only nine and Malik fell for a first-ball duck in the mammoth chase. Pakistan could have well dropped Malik and played rookie Asif Ali considering the veteran's struggles so far in the tournament.
Pakistan also missed a trick as they failed to cash in on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury. Pakistan could have really stretched India in the slog overs if they had wickets in hand. But four quick wickets for the addition of a mere 12 runs effectively killed the game. In the end, Kohli and Co. emerged comfortable winners and made it 7-0 as far as Indo-Pak World Cup clashes are concerned.
