Bowlers and Rohit Sharma star in thrashing arch rivals for the 8th time
October 14, 2023: After the FIFA World Cup, this encounter is
supposed to be the most viewed sporting spectacle on Television. It is one
encounter where the fans want a tug-of-war fight between both teams. Did the
encounter on 14th October live up to expectations? The answer is a vehement no.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are known to
be explosive, but Shaheen Afridi and his in-swingers at the start of the
innings will always be at the back of their mind. After all, they have been
prey to such good-lengths in the past. Today, however, was different. The first
run scored off a nice tuck to the square leg for a boundary, and what followed,
was a marvelling stroke play by Rohit Sharma. Indian fans are always angry with
Rohit Sharma and troll him as a No-Hit, Minnow basher and so on. I could
decipher the root cause of this frustration – We want the artist to play
longer, play those languid drives, nonchalant pulls, those reckless sweep shots
and the furious Square Cuts. We enjoy them and feel it is our right not to be
deprived.
Rohit Sharma, these days, is somehow
serving them on a life-size platter. The frustration of him not making the
remaining 14 runs to count for yet another century was much higher than the 86
he made to floor the opposition bowling. Gill and Kohli looked good for as long
as they were playing, but it is natural to get carried away when the guy on the
other side is timing the ball to perfection. Shaheen Afridi got his consolation
when Rohit miscued a slower delivery to get dismissed 36 runs short of a
victory for India. India scored these 36 runs in 8 odd overs, at a touch less
than five runs an over. Shreyas Iyer scored a well-deserved half-century with
some clean hitting, but all this looked lacklustre in the light of a Rohit
Sharma show.
Earlier in the day, at one of the world’s
largest venues filled with blue jerseys, Pakistan looked like a team in balance
at one stage with 150+ runs for three wickets. The expectation of a
high-scoring encounter peaked at that stage, with Indian fans also wanting a
Babar Azam and Rizwan doing well to pose a daunting target for India. What
happened next, was aptly described by Nasser Hussain, "A collapse that
only Pakistan can conjure upon themselves". Losing the remaining seven
wickets for 36 runs left cricket fans speechless.
Rizwan and Babar were playing
a knock that was building itself into a strong partnership, which eventually
might lead to a mammoth target. In typical calculation, the final score is
double 30-over mark score, unless the lower middle order and tail are playing.
156 for 3 with Rizwan still playing well, it was a 300+ confirmed score, and if
they go berserk, it was a near target of 350.
Siraj and Bumrah came back to attack and
started weaving a web of outstanding fast bowling supported well by Kuldeep and
Hardik. What followed was a catastrophe with clinical precision. The Green
Brigade looked like Art majors trying to understand Integral Calculus. The ball
was nipping back, reversing and importantly, hitting the top of the off stump.
In anticipation of a respectable score, the tail wagged aimlessly, only for the
innings to fold at 191.
So it has become a record of epic
proportions for India to safeguard and Pakistan to break. If Pakistan wants to
nurture any hope of making it to the semi-final, they have to be consistent in
Bowling, Batting, Fielding, Team Selection and other departments that affect
their performance on the field
rather than be worried about the Visas to
Pakistani journalists and fans, or not playing Dil Dil Pakistan in the ground.
India, on the other hand, just have to
continue the good work, and strictly bring back Ashwin in place of Shardul,
irrespective of the pitch conditions.
