India’s dominance in World Cup events against traditional rivals Pakistan was currently to end on the count of 12, and on five. t20 world cups. Bakers Dozen was not to be at the Dubai International on Sunday Night Cricket Stadium. Or rather, Unlucky 13 appeared on the face of the Indian team.
Either way you look at it, Virat Kohli & Co. got a paste at the hands of Babar Azam & Co. Legendary Sunil Gavaskar termed the 10-wicket loss a “hammer”, while skipper Kohli called it “Pakistan definitely beat us”. .
Winning with such complete control from the time New Zealand umpire Chris Gaffney called ‘play’, Pakistan made a very strong statement that India were compensated for all 12 previous losses in World Cup matches. India has never lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in limited overs international cricket before Sunday.
Everything had to happen for the first time. India’s clean sheet against Pakistan in the World Cup tournament was to end on day one. If not for Sunday, the two may meet again later in the tournament, or next year, or in 2023. Loss doesn’t take away beautiful memories of each and every victory of those last dozen matches.
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And, there are certainly lessons to be learned from the unlucky 13th. This happened even as Kohli regretfully began his last tournament as India’s T20 captain. It was not a memorable start for Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a mentor in the Indian team. And that was certainly not the start that the Indian coaching staff trio of Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar wanted in their last assignment with the Indian team.
On the other hand, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and retired South African hard-working fast bowler Vernon Philander have been directly elevated to such a high level since taking over the coaching duties with Pakistan that it gives the Pakistan Cricket Board the opportunity to do so. His decision to include two former internationals as a master move will leave you wondering.
The emotions involved in the India-Pakistan game are beyond imagination for billions of fans from both the countries. More than the players who are actually good friends of each other and have mutual respect for each other, as has been seen over the years, the sentiments of the concerned countrymen for this particular struggle, which a former India player has called I used to say ‘mother’. Of all the cricket struggles that have to be experienced to be understood, there is something special. Even journalists from both the countries have formed a deep bond over the years covering cricket.
As much as the players want to consider it as another game of cricket, it is more than that. And we all saw why this happens on Sundays. After being invited to bat by Pakistan and when you have your best limited overs specialist and go for the opening on a man-in-form pitch devoid of grass, what was offered during that time, Looks completely different from him. The Indian Premier League has happened not too long ago, you would expect a good start.
But that was not to be. Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi followed through on his call to remove the top-order and dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in quick successions from which India could not recover at all. And, after showing promise by hitting a smooth six and a boundary, Suryakumar Yadav bundled out India for 31 for three inside the power play.
Indian fans get emotional about anything related to India’s wicket. KL Rahul was bowled over by Afridi’s beauty, the image of the front left leg of the front left hand not inside the popping crease on social media, and fans failing to notice the number on umpire Gaffney or England TV umpire Richard Illingworth alleged to have lived. The ball and that Rahul is done wrong. But it turned out that the point of landing of the foot was behind the popping crease and that is what counts for a legal delivery, not where the foot ends after landing.
Also, India had a poor start but did well after a fight total of 151/7. It would have been comfortable for India if they had scored another 30. But the dominant batting line-up of Pakistan captain Babar Azam and the equally destructive Mohammad Rizwan and their record-breaking partnership was such that they planned their run chases accordingly and also completed the target of 180-plus. He showed his dominance by winning 13 balls.
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India fought. But, it was not good enough. The Azam-Rizwan pair has dominated not only in this match but also in T20 this year that no one could stop them that day.
Indian bowlers could not do what Afridi did for Pakistan. Didn’t even get a chance to take a couple of wickets early. Kohli used four different bowlers in the first four overs, eliminating ‘mystery’ bowler Varun Chakraborty between overs four and thirteen but without a buy. Otherwise India’s wicket-taker, Mohammed Shami or Jasprit Bumrah or T20 specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar was completely off-colour that day.
And, when the batting conditions improved and the Indian bowlers had to deal with the dew, it became the day when nothing went right for India. It doesn’t take any credit from the way Pakistan plays. Had the toss gone in India’s favour, the result might have been different.
This is not to say that India has not tried. He tried his best. It was just that Pakistan played better that day. T20 cricket is about a team that performs well on a particular day. One moment of madness can change the course of the game. For Pakistan, being the unpredictable side they have been known for over the years, there was no loser. We have seen Pakistan go down from win positions and win from anywhere, whether one plays blind or bowls magic. But, it was not to be Sunday night. It was a well thought out effort by Azam and Rizwan, to capitalize on the conditions and a good toss by Afridi.
Lastly, Kohli can be criticized for his selection of playing 11. Shouldn’t they have picked Ishan Kishan in the playing 11? Should he have gone with Hardik Pandya if he can’t bowl? Should he have played the veteran Ravichandran Ashwin before the inexperienced Chakraborty? But, the same people would have been praising Kohli for his selection of playing 11 if the result had been in India’s favour. If the iconic lineup of Bumrah, Shami, Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t take wickets, and neither the destroyers Rohit Sharma, Rahul or Yadav could click with the bat, there is little that the others sitting out could have done.
India’s defeat doesn’t mean the end of the world, or in this case the end of the T20 World Cup campaign for Kohli & Co. It’s not the end of the world for the fans either. Team India have six full days to recover, recharge their batteries, reflect on where they went wrong and make a fresh comeback against New Zealand on Sunday night (October 31). They are professional enough to see the big picture and have not succumbed to defeat to Pakistan.
In fact, as former South African pacer turned TV commentator Dale Steyn put it, the defeat must have done India some good. Don’t be complacent or overconfident in important lessons learned. The setback came early so that the Indian team did not take anything lightly.
India should aim to win all four remaining matches in Group 2, followed by Afghanistan, Qualifier Scotland and Namibia against New Zealand. Even a loss in the remaining four matches will make it difficult for India to qualify for the semi-finals, and other factors like net run rate and results of other matches will come into the picture and should work in India’s favour.
Why Leave it to Chance? This Indian team is good to cover the entire distance. It’s just that he had a bad day in office, and that happened against Pakistan.
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