Pak & furious

The atmosphere at the SuperSport Park in Centurion was electrifying. This was the marquee game of the Champions Trophy. India and Pakistan were playing after more than a year. There was no place for those without a ticket. For the 17,000-odd spectators inside the stadium this was the day to let their hair down.

For the Indian bowlers the afternoon turned out to be a hair-raising experience. At no point, even when they got rid of the top-three Pakistan batsmen by the end of the 15th over, did the Indian bowlers show the intensity to dominate.

Left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh was pedestrian from the word go, while Ishant Sharma didn’t look like taking a wicket when it mattered. Ashish Nehra was the best but the lack of support for him was highlighted by the record 206-run partnership for the fourth-wicket between centurion Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yusuf.

Malik’s innings will be remembered when this rivalry is chronicled time and again. Pakistan needed someone to play a long innings after the early losses. They found two determined batsmen willing to lift their game. The form card means nothing when these two teams clash. Early in the innings, Malik didn’t reveal anything that hinted that he was to play a huge role, but along with Yusuf he wrested back the initiative. They pushed the ball to gain singles and twos, when it was too short or wide from the spinners they used the cut and late cut to beat the fielders in the deep.

Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh were watching from the plush stand. On the day, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have loved to have the option of having them in the attack. Pakistan’s tail didn’t wag but the damage was done before the death overs.
Pakistan’s openers showed the aggressive intent from the start. Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal took 12 runs off Singh’s first over, the second of the innings.

The Indian fast bowling unit is seen as the weak link. They didn’t help themselves by spraying the ball around.

Ashish Nehra, the best of the bowlers on show, got the breakthrough that was much required when Nazir didn’t get hold of a pull and holed out to Harbhajan Singh in the deep. It gave India the momentum they should have capitalised on.

Instead they released their grip on the game. Akmal was the next to go playing onto the stumps off Nehra. Singh then came around the wicket and induced an edge from skipper Younus Khan that Dhoni didn’t spill. Dhoni opted for the slow bowlers in the 18th over.

He brought on Virat Kohli in the 18th over and followed it up with Yusuf Pathan in the 19th over. Yusuf and Malik, both adept against spin, weren’t troubled. Harbhajan was brought into the attack in the 26th over. He was predictable through the day; firing the ball in and doing little else to play into the hands of Yusuf and Malik.