March 21, 2014
Brief Scorecard: India 131 for 3 (Kohli 36*, Raina 35*) beat Pakistan 130 for 7 (Umar Akmal 33, Mishra 2-22) by 7 wickets
Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli give themselves credit for a facile win, India v Pakistan, World T20, Group 2, Mirpur, March 21, 2014
March 21, 2014
Brief Scorecard: India 131 for 3 (Kohli 36*, Raina 35*) beat Pakistan 130 for 7 (Umar Akmal 33, Mishra 2-22) by 7 wickets
Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli give themselves credit for a facile win, India v Pakistan, World T20, Group 2, Mirpur, March 21, 2014
DHAKA: Be it Friday or any other day, be it T20 or 50-over cricket, Pakistan still can't beat India in World Cups. The Men in Blue won their ninth World Cup contest against their arch-rivals and the fourth in the ICC World T20 when they emerged victorious in a turbo-charged opening Super-10 clash at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday by seven wickets with nine balls to spare.
Rohit Sharma (24; 21 balls, 1×4, 2×6) and Shikhar Dhawan (30; 28b, 5×4), who have endured a lean period as an opening pair since November 2, set the base for the win by putting on 50 for the first wicket in eight overs.
And while Dhawan perished while attacking a short ball off Gul and Rohit chopped Ajmal on to the stumps, thereby wasting another good start, the chase of 131 was never going to be an issue. India's two in-form batsmen Virat Kohli (36*; 32b, 4×4, 1×6) and Suresh Raina (35*; 28b, 4×4, 1×6) applied the finishing touches on a tricky wicket with decent turn and spongy bounce.
Their unbeaten 66-run stand in 8.2 overs took care of a mini collapse which occurred after Yuvraj Singh (1) was out bowled playing across the line off Bilawal Bhatti. His repeated dismissals to full deliveries raises question marks over his eyesight and reflexes.
They say when in doubt, have a conversation with your inner self and go with your gut feeling. Earlier, Indian skipper MS Dhoni did just that and against conventional wisdom, on a dew-laden outfield, his decision to field a three-pronged specialist spin attack paid rich dividends.
The trio of R Ashwin (4-0-23-0), Amit Mishra (4-1-22-2) and Ravindra Jadeja (4-0-18-1) applied the squeeze on the Pakistan batsmen. After being put in to bat, the 2009 champions just couldn't break free and managed only 130-7.
Ashwin's tactic of bowling round the wicket at the batsman's pads cramped the Pakistanis and Ahmed Shehzad felt the pressure. He called Kamran Akmal for a suicidal single and turned back, only to leave the wicketkeeper stranded. The chaotic start to the innings was symbolic of the way Pakistan batted throughout the 20-over stretch as they lost wickets at the wrong time throughout their innings.
The reinvented and rejuvenated Mishra flighted the ball generously and his dismissal of Shehzad, where he drew the batsman forward, and beat him in flight, was vintage leg-spin bowling. Jadeja too bowled flat and fast and didn't allow the batsmen to use their feet. Barring the fourth-wicket stand of 50 between Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal 33 (30 balls, 2×4), Pakistan just could not get any momentum and without Sohaib Maqsood's cameo 21 (11b, 2×4, 1 x6), they would have ended with an even lower score.
India now face West Indies at the same venue under lights on Sunday, while Pakistan will face Australia in a must-win game earlier on the same day.
Courtesy: PTI
