Ek baar phir se Pak ko baja dala!!!
What say Indian Cricket Fans?
Well, it seems like India is living up to the “Won’t give it back” tag-line for their bid in this World cup to retain their title as the reigning champions. They beat Pakistan with a thumping victory with 50+ runs to spare in their highly anticipated epic clash. India still holds bragging rights of beating Pakistan 6-0 in World Cup history.
However, yesterday’s match between India and Pakistan, sworn arch-rivals, proves one thing for sure India has a few chinks in the armour which it definitely needs to sort out in order to progress further till the final match! Pakistan’s batting order lost the match for them; however, their bowling was at par.
India Pakistan Match WC 2015
Match Overview
- If you had closely watched and analysed yesterday’s match with an unbiased opinion you would have noticed one thing that Pakistan didn’t play very badly in the beginning, their middle order batsmen fell like a set of dominoes once the top order succumbed to Shami and Yadav’s bowling attack.
- Dhawan and Kohli’s hard-hitting knocks gave India the win. India’s luck, previous edge against Pakistan of the 5-0 wins in World Cups and brilliant match awareness pitted the match in their favour that’s all.
- Pakistan’s side isn’t as formidable as their previous World Cup squads, but if they can better yesterday’s performance, they can go far!
If we take a jab at the match from an analytical angle, we can surely point out what went right and wrong for both teams… neither of them was perfect.
India’s Misses
- Shikhar Dhawan could have had a century, but Kohli’s miscalculation, stupidity and aggressiveness claimed yet another victim. No wonder everyone calls him a hot-head!
- Kohli did get into a spat with a few Pakistan players on-field during Pakistan’s batting; he should avoid being fined for replying back to their sledging. Remember Kohli we don’t reply to snide remarks, we stay smug, try being like your diva girlfriend, Anushka for once!
- Dhoni was seemingly angry with Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami for bowling senseless Wide balls; he simply can’t remain ‘captain cool’ all the time. Both these bowlers need to hit the right line and length rather than trying too hard and gloating after getting a wicket.
- India’s fielding was a little sloppy, there was a dropped catch and Dhawan almost dropped Shehzad’s wicket but was lucky enough to cup the ball in his hands after a second attempt. Remember guys, the ball isn’t a ball of fire!
India’s Hits
- Do we need to say anything about the senseless speculation that we Indians do?
- Most people were doubting Dhawan’s form due to his recent performance and most of us didn’t want him in the final XI, but he as cool as he looks; he silenced all speculation and mistrust with an impeccable 73 out of 76 balls. Dho dala!
- India’s bowling bettered during the last half of the game and our bowlers slurped the Pakistani batsmen like we slurp a single noodle strand for fun! 4 Pakistan wickets fell faster than our Mufflerman Kejriwal can lift his finger to organize a dharna!
- Virat Kolhi’s rambunxious, eye-popping, unrelenting, undaunting and every other ‘–ting’ kind of super batting performance helped India put up a respectable score on the board. He was declared ‘Man of the Match’ too.
Pakistan’s Misses
- Dear Pakistan, it was a 50-over game and not a Twenty20 match, you lost wickets like you were playing the latter match! Kids in my street hold better at their positions than you do!
- Having a freakishly tall bowler like Mohammed Ifran did scare our batsmen but we didn’t succumb to his height! He needs to bowl better to match our stalwarts like Kohli, Raina, Dhawan and Dhoni!
- Shahid Afridi, bro, grow up! Your dismissals are like a horror movie script now – extremely predictable! You have been getting out the same way since eternity… even we can use chopsticks now after years of practice, why can’t you stop getting dismissed in the most embarrassing way over?
Pakistan’s Hits
- Sohail Khan’s brilliant 5 Wickets are the only thing that shook India. India, learn something from him. A player can be as dangerous when returns to ODIs after a long time.
- Misbah-Ul-Haq – His name his enough to show how intrinsic he is to the Pakistan side. Without him and Afridi the entire team was grappling for runs like a person trying to swat flies!
- Wahab Riaz can be devastating for the opponent if backed by a good partner. All other teams need to watch out for him! He is a Kohli from the other side of the border!
Tweet Centre
A few tweets posted on twitter to limber you up:
*30 years later* Emotional Akmal’s son: “Papa is glove se catch chhora karte the” #INDvPAK – cricBC @cricBC
Jackie Shroff time. Any moment the Pakistan army will be wiped off. – Trendulkar @Trendulkar
All in all, yesterday’s match was an exciting one to witness amidst all the hits and misses! India and Pakistan need to learn from their mistakes and better their plus points.
If India wants to bring back its ‘dulhan’ home, they need to keep this form alive!
Bowling needs to be better, much better than this!
