After the frenzy that always follows a match between India and Pakistan, it’s time for some analysis.
Batting
The Indians have a solid batting line-up which is trying to remember its potential; the last three months Down Under have not brought ideal results for this bunch of stars.
The Indians have a solid batting line-up which is trying to remember its potential; the last three months Down Under have not brought ideal results for this bunch of stars.
Shikhar Dhawan had a lot of pressure on him to perform after consistent poor performances, and he not only batted sensibly but seemed to touch his past best form.
Rohit Sharma came out of the injury period and looked rusty. He’ll have his eyes on the next high-profile match against South Africa.
Nobody had doubts about Virat Kohli and he showed once again why. He came in when the ball was moving and Mohammad Irfan was bowling with some real pace and bounce. Yet after 20-odd balls Kohli was mastering his strokes just like he does at Wankhede, and he repeated his World Cup 2011 performance of scoring a ton in the first match of the tournament.
Suresh Raina played like he was never in a bad touch. He along with Kohli took the match away from Pakistan and by the 44th over it looked as if India would touch 320. Raina completely dominated the Pakistan attack until Sohail Khan took a flurry of wickets and restricted India to 300.
The Indian lower order once again failed to accelerate the scoring in the end, with Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja falling cheaply. MS Dhoni looked like coming into the helicopter mood with a rocket flat six over mid-wicket, but his stay was cut short too.
The Indian top order has shortened the odds of India going far in this tournament, sending their opponents an early warning.
The lower order need to find its flamboyant touch soon if the team are to go past the likes of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
Bowling
While many would call India’s bowling attack mediocre, they completely proved this wrong. After a bit of wayward bowling in the opening overs by Umesh Yadav, the whole contingent held the Pakistani batsmen tight and didn’t allow any pair to settle down.
While many would call India’s bowling attack mediocre, they completely proved this wrong. After a bit of wayward bowling in the opening overs by Umesh Yadav, the whole contingent held the Pakistani batsmen tight and didn’t allow any pair to settle down.
Mohammed Shami was the best of the pacers, Ravichandran Ashwin the best of the spin attack. Shami used the bounce of the pitch in perfect manner and hit the deck hard. Yadav came back strongly in his final spell and Dhoni would hope that status quo is maintained as he goes through with the tournament.
Jadeja was not at his best in this match and he’ll have to show something special in the contest against South Africa to maintain his position, as Akshar Patel is waiting in the wings. Mohit Sharma did his job well, holding on to his strength – not pace but good line and length.
Fielding
Indian fielding has improved a lot under Dhoni and it showed. Raina held on to two beautiful catches in the slips and Jadeja was impeccable at gully. Kohli held the deep fielding cordon well and even Shami was seen diving around saving fours and trying to grab the half chances.
Indian fielding has improved a lot under Dhoni and it showed. Raina held on to two beautiful catches in the slips and Jadeja was impeccable at gully. Kohli held the deep fielding cordon well and even Shami was seen diving around saving fours and trying to grab the half chances.
Full credit to the young blood and the coaching staff.
Captaincy
Dhoni has been questioned for his unconventional ways, which haven’t been reaping results in last few months. He has retired from Tests to concentrate on limited overs cricket, and it seems the rest period has worked for him.
Dhoni has been questioned for his unconventional ways, which haven’t been reaping results in last few months. He has retired from Tests to concentrate on limited overs cricket, and it seems the rest period has worked for him.
He picked Dhawan and Rohit to open the innings instead of Rahane, which is the best combination in the current Indian squad. More importantly he stuck with Kohli at number three after all the experimentation of Rahane and Ambati Rayudu. The ploy of playing cautiously in the beginning and capitalising later worked well, with Dhoni promoting Raina ahead of Rahane.
In bowling we could see him shuffling the bowlers really well and setting the field for wickets rather than run containment. It was the attacking Dhoni on display, not the passive one.
If he holds this throughout the tournament, India might breach the favourites’ fortresses.
Overall rating – 8/10
