A couple of decades ago, India had to be at their very best to go toe-to-toe with Pakistan in white-ball cricket. A decade ago, they still needed to be at their best to avoid slipping against their arch-rivals. Today, India showed they can be operating at barely 50 per cent and still outclass Pakistan.
Sunday’s Asia Cup Super 4 clash in Dubai underlined the increasingly lopsided nature of a rivalry once billed as cricket’s fiercest. Despite being sloppy in the field and subpar with the ball, India steamrolled Salman Ali Agha’s Pakistan. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were at their rampaging best as Suryakumar Yadav’s men made light work of a 172-run chase to launch their Super 4 campaign with a commanding win. Abhishek smashed 74 off 39 deliveries while Gill was the partner in crime, smashing 47 off 28, as their 105-run opening partnership, which came in just 49 balls, set the platform for a largely comfortable chase, which was completed in 18.5 overs.
On a night when their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah endured one of his poorest outings and as many as four catches went down, India still coasted home with overs to spare. Pakistan, for their part, produced a much-improved display with the bat, but their bowlers, barring express pacer Haris Rauf, capitulated under pressure.
There is no denying Pakistan possess a talented bowling unit, but on Sunday they ran into an Indian batting line-up operating on another level entirely. India’s destructive brand of T20 batting has raised the bar to a higher plane – one that Pakistan, for all their promise, remain miles beneath.
NO RIVALRY LEFT: SURYAKUMAR
Suryakumar did not hold back even after the win, adding insult to Pakistan’s injury. When asked by a reporter about the rivalry, he declared that, in his view, there is no rivalry anymore.
“According to me, if two teams are playing 15-20 matches and the scoreline is 7-7, or 8-7, then you can call it good cricket, you call it rivalry. If it’s 13-0, 10-1, I am not sure what the stat is. But, this is not a rivalry any more. I feel we played better cricket than them between 7-15, and we bowled better also,” Suryakumar said with a candidness that has rarely been seen before in Indian cricket.
The intensity of the contest was plain to see. Coming on the heels of the handshake snub last week and Pakistan’s pointless boycott drama, verbal exchanges added fuel to the fire. It began even before the first ball was bowled, with another pointed moment at the toss: India captain Suryakumar Yadav once again avoided shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha. Match referee Andy Pycroft, already caught in the storm over last week’s incident, was once again in the middle of it.
That simmering tension quickly spilt over into the contest, particularly when India began their chase of what looked a challenging total of 172.
The verbal duels between openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill and Pakistan’s pacers started from the very first delivery. Abhishek pulled a surprise bouncer from Shaheen Shah Afridi into the stands, then needled the bowler. Gill soon joined the fray, unleashing his explosive stroke play and biting words. After cracking Shaheen for back-to-back boundaries in the third over, he walked towards the left-armer and, as the television cameras caught, taunted him with: “Jaa, ball lekar aa” (“Go, fetch the ball”).
Things got heated between Abhishek Sharma & Haris Rauf.
Gill and Abhishek were relentless in their exchanges. Whether it was a premeditated tactic remains to be seen, but it clearly unsettled Pakistan’s bowlers. Shaheen, guilty of over-pitching in the group-stage game against India the previous Sunday, was denied any rhythm as Gill kept dancing down the track and piercing the gaps with ease.
The two childhood friends hunted in tandem. Gill, the right-hander, dazzled with elegant strokeplay, largely keeping the ball along the carpet, while Abhishek unleashed fearless aggression, sending the ball soaring into the stands five times. He reached his half-century off just 24 deliveries – the fastest fifty by an Indian against Pakistan in men’s T20 internationals – underscoring the gulf in confidence and execution between the two sides. (India Today)
