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India ease over Pakistan in their opening tie of World T20 2014
India walk over Pakistan in their first tie of World T20 2014
"There was a time, back in the '90s, when India used to go down to Pakistan just because they were playing Pakistan. They would just not be able to play their game. Just the fact that Pakistan were their opponents was enough to prevent them from converting years of practice into performance on the field. That has not happened in a while. India, for most of the last decade, have played Pakistan like they would any other opposition." Quote from espncricinfo.
India-Pakistan contests in world tournaments, though, have always brought out the '90s Indian team in Pakistan. Nothing seemed to have changed in Mirpur. They were diffident against India in Colombo two years ago, they were diffident today. They had managed 128 that night, they made 131 tonight. Both times, the tone for the game was set by their captain.
Even in the lead-up, MS Dhoni spoke about how he was pleased a lot of acrimony had gone out of India-Pakistan matches, Mohammad Hafeez on the other hand sounded combative when asked about the lack of wins against India in World Cups. India were clear in their heads: they played three spinners, and didn't want to take a chance with the dew, so they put Pakistan in. Pakistan were a bundle of nerves.
Amit Mishra provided two crucial breakthroughs
Ahmed Shehzad ran out Kamran Akmal, who looked in good touch with his two early boundaries, before almost running himself out. With no loose balls on offer, Hafeez and Shehzad got more and more anxious before throwing their wickets away to Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra in the eighth and the ninth overs. It is a minor surprise that Mishra was only in his second Twenty20 international, but he bowled like a grizzled veteran for the most part. The delivery to get Shehzad was a beauty: for the batsman on the edge, he slowed a legbreak down, got some drift and dip, and drew as comprehensive a stumping as any you will see.
From 47 for 3 in the ninth over, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik - the latter has feasted on Indian bowling in the past - tried a revival with a 50-run stand in seven overs, but the knowledge that a strong India batting lineup would need a total in excess of 150 to be challenged meant the percentages were always low. India again offered nothing loose, and Malik fell when trying to go inside-out off Mishra's bowling. He was beaten in the flight, the ball turned, and took a thick outside edge for long-off to catch.
What would have please India was that even in the last three overs - with the spinners' quotas exhausted - India conceded just 28 runs. The pitch was not the easiest to bat on, with good bounce and turn on offer, which would have actually left Pakistan a little more annoyed with their effort. About 15 more runs and their bowlers would have put India under serious pressure, especially with Shikhar Dhawan struggling at the top. Somehow, though, Dhawan scored 30 of possibly his most ungainly runs before falling. Rohit Sharma, who looked much better than Dhawan, managed 24 at a marginally better strike rate. Be that as it may, the two had given India a start, and despite a wobble in the middle Virat Kohli - in the company of Suresh Raina - did what he can do even in his sleep.
Rain and Kohli partnership made it overcome pak total easily
The only disturbing aspect of India's evening came through in this wobble: Yuvraj Singh had dropped a catch, conceded 13 in one over, and capped it off with a poor shot to be bowled for 1. That left India needing 66 in the remaining 9.5 overs, a situation that needs some panic from batsmen for some interest to be manufactured. No panic was forthcoming from Kohli, and once Shahid Afridi dropped Suresh Raina on 7 it was a cruise for India.
The key aspect of the finish provided by Kohli and Raina was how coolly they played Saeed Ajmal. Ajmal's analysis is worth a look: he was hit for three fours that Dhawan was not in control of, but still went for 18 runs and took one wicket in his four overs. However, the two India batsmen didn't show any desperation against him, and reached home with nine balls to go.
Man of the match Amit Mishra's words post match, "MS came to me and said you don't think too much, you do just what is your strength," Mishra said. "My strength is to spin the ball and I beat the batsman by giving it some flight. I did the same. I had their opener stumped. I dismissed Shoaib Malik. You gain a lot from such small tips. The way MS Dhoni keeps telling me it helps in such a pressure game. My strength is to spin and flight the ball. This is what has worked for me, so I look to work on it and improve.
"I always think about the short format that whenever you think to stop the runs, you cannot stop the runs. You always think about taking the wickets, how to take the wickets and keep the pressure on the opponent's side. This is working for me so I am doing it."
It was clear cricketing logic. It was brave, of course, but it was logical. It is what Mishra and Dhoni and India were able to plan and execute. They were able to do it because the thought of what opposition they were up against was not on their minds. The same couldn't be said of Pakistan.
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