India versus Pakistan, the blue riband match of the T20 World Cup, was always going to grab the attention of the cricket world. But this time it has acquired an added edge, at least where Indian fans are concerned.
Pre-tournament predictions were that India would go into this game with their tail up. But the defeat against New Zealand has queered the pitch. A defeat on Saturday could see a premature exit for M S Dhoni and his team, which would break a billion hearts.
On the other hand, Pakistan recovered brilliantly from the tribulations and tension of a yes-no-yes participation in the tournament to win their first match. While Bangladesh may not seem the strongest side in the tournament, they had beaten Pakistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup. This was not a cakewalk.
But let’s begin with India. When Kane Williamson revealed his playing Xl for the first match of the T20 World Championship against India, there was much chuckling and even some opprobrium from experts.
“He must be out of his mind to play three spinners against India and drop both Southee and Boult,” was the general refrain. Less than four hours later, every critic was eating humble pie.
New Zealand’s victory over India was unexpected, true, but also highlighted how precise was their reading of the Nagpur pitch; and how astute the team selection to take on the pre-tournament favourites had been.
On a sluggish pitch that provided increasing turn as the match wore on, India were outwitted and outplayed. New Zealand mustered a modest score that soon became gargantuan as Indian batsmen went into a tailspin by the very spinners who had earned derision earlier.
Of course Williamson enjoyed the luck of the toss. In spite of that, however, who would have believed that Dhoni & Co would be bundled out for so few in conditions they are not just familiar with, but had probably demanded for this opening encounter?
Where did India falter? The fact that New Zealand’s unheralded spinner put up a far more impressive display than India’s slow bowlers does not show the batsmen in good light for sure.
There has been growing criticism that contemporary Indian batsmen are not as adept at playing spin as their predecessors. In 2012-13, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar had spun England to victory on Indian soil it will be recalled. Subsequently, Moeen Ali, Nathan Lyon and Rangana Herath too have harried them. Generally, when the opposition has quality spinners, India’s batsmen have been under pressure in the past decade or so.
I believe though that against New Zealand, whatever the nature of the pitch, India lost the match essentially in the mind and not as much because of technical shortcomings against spin.
A modest target can be confounding (remember the 1983 World Cup final when the mighty West Indies collapsed ignominiously after India had made just 183?
India’s approach in the run chase against New Zealand was confused. Initially it seemed that the batsmen wanted to get over the job in a jiffy. With the pitch helping bowlers, the early departure of the openers put the batting under even more pressure.
The Kiwi batsmen had cleverly discarded their attacking approach after realizing that the pitch was not conducive to free strokeplay, and doggedly played out the 20 overs to give their bowlers – and tactics – a chance to succeed.
A mid-course correction is what India also needed. But after Dhawan and Rohit were out to needless recklessness, Yuvraj and Raina froze instead of playing subdued second fiddle to Virat Kohli.
Only Kohli and Dhoni were able to assess the pitch and the bowling with competence, but by then the Kiwis were right on top and turning the screws tight. With the pitch getting progressively worse, it turned into a debacle.
India, looking to bamboozle New Zealand on a turner, had been hoist by their own petard.
In stark contrast, Pakistan’s vulnerable batting sparkled brilliantly against Bangladesh. The Eden Garden pitch was a belter, but Pakistan’s batting form leading into the tournament had been woeful. Also, they had lost to the same rivals in the Asia Cup.
The top order this time, however, looked more settled and more determined with both Ahmad Shehzad and Mohammed Hafeez making impressive half centuries. But it was skipper Shahid Afridi’s blistering 19-ball 49 that effectively knocked the fight out of Bangladesh.
As if leading a team in India was not an onerous task in itself, Afridi had come under massive flak from his countrymen, including surprisingly former captain Javed Miandad for saying that he got more love in India than in his own country.
For argument’s sake, simple mathematics would suggest that most cricketers, not just Afridi, were likely to have a greater following in India because the sheer number of cricket fans here is more than that of all other countries put together!
Essentially, it was an innocuous statement taken out of context of a conversation for which poor Afridi was pilloried and had to be hidden from the media for a day or two before the match. But once he was on the field, Afridi went boom boom, and Pakistan simply crushed Bangladesh.
What transpired in these matches was riveting for the cricket played, and perhaps also indicative that this would be a topsy-turvy, suspense-laden tournament.
Meanwhile Indian fans have their fingers crossed for a resurrection.
