India is a very vast country geographically and culturally. We have 28 states, 16 major languages, and a population of 1.3 billion. When India plays Pakistan we set all our differences aside and cheer for India. It’s safe to say that India cannot be more united than when India plays Pakistan. Although this match wasn’t as exciting as expected, it had its own share of moments.
Before the game, there were two pieces of statistics that were coinciding. The first one being, India has never lost to Pakistan in a WC encounter. So we had a tradition to sustain. But so did Pakistan, They haven’t lost to India on a Friday. The ICC guys who drew up the fixtures gave us a masterpiece. India versus Pakistan, T20 WC super 10 on a Friday. Personally, I wanted Pakistan to score 250 and India chase it down with a hundred from Yuvraj Singh. India ended up with a convincing but not so dramatic victory. The Indian spinners did an amazing job. They bowled the right areas and used the conditions well to their advantage. The delivery that undid Ahmed Shehzad was a beautiful delivery. Amit Mishra’s coach would be beaming with pride after watching that. I never enjoyed watching Pakistan bat after the Inzamam-Younus Khan era. Pakistan’s young guns lack the style and finesse that their predecessors had. As an Indian fan, I enjoyed watching Saeed Anwar opening the innings. The only player who does justice to Pakistan’s batting legacy is Misbah-ul-Haq. India’s bowling strategy was simple. Bowl straight and wait for the unnecessarily flamboyant Pakistanis to make mistakes, a strategy that always works against flashy batsmen. With India having to chase 130, the openers got off to a steady start. With already 15 runs in an over, Dhawan over did it by trying to hook a steep delivery from Gul. Virat’s versatility and composure always amazes me, He’s surprisingly calm for a young hot head while he bats. I was disappointed to see Yuvi depart with a first ball duck. His foot movement shows that he was expecting a short ball. The fear of a short ball continues to nag Indians even in an Asian venue. The Pakistani bowling line up is currently the best in the world. They have two of the best spinners in the world, Afridi and Saeed Ajmal. They have a very very lethal death bowler, Umar Gul and a good seamer of the ball, Junaid. Yet they failed to trouble the Indians. To be honest, the Pakistani’s weren’t at their best. The Indians did bat well, but on any other day the Pakistanis would have wrapped us up for 100.
I was really surprised with Hafeez’s field placement. 20 odd runs to win and he still had a slip. He had the field spread out and leaked out easy singles. I was surprised to see that he did not choose to bring the field in and pressurize the batsmen when 17 was needed off 18. Now, all eyes On a lighter note, am I the only person who thinks that Kohli resembles Ahmed Shehzad?