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IND vs PAK: India’s lack of bowling teeth was brutally exposed in their second Asia Cup 2022 contest with Pakistan, as the latter were able to script quite a win after India’s Plan A – to score 200 and beyond – fell way short. The Plan B, of having a bowling attack potent enough to defend 181 runs, was never there and though the match was decided as late as the penultimate ball of the game, Pakistan managed to scramble through after keeping up the pace throughout and making the most of the thin Indian bowling. No wonder India skipper Rohit Sharma wanted more from his batters, but that is not guaranteed to come good all the time. He has a definite problem at hand.
The hell for leather approach in the India batting after being sent in to bat was pretty evident. Sharma and KL Rahul waded into the Pakistan fast bowlers in a serious reverse to rival skipper Babar Azam’s initial objective to uproot the top order through sheer pace.
But neither of the two batters lasted long, especially after having seen off the initial hardness of the cricket ball and thereafter, only Virat Kohli had any substantial contribution.
The Pakistan spinners were on point and between them Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz were able to put the lid on the run rate, and India’s plans of a 200-plus score fell well short.
Another weakness that emerged was the inability of the Indian bowlers to force the pace with the bat in the death overs. With Rishabh Pant having little to contribute, the early departure of Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda not being up to the scratch, it was left to Kohli to score the runs and also defend both ends.
That Ravi Bishnoi got two boundaries off the last two balls of the Indian inning was thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s largesse. Otherwise, the match would not have even gone to the last over.
The bowling was in tatters most of the time. While the Pakistan batters always had the pressure of chasing 10-plus runs per over, they did an admirable job of staying with the asking rate, with Mohammad Rizwan showing some real class, and speed between the wickets.
The Indian spinners, in sharp contrast to their Pakistani counterparts, were overall unimpressive. Bishnoi is inexperienced, but his penchant to bowl wides in the crucial late over was an element in India’s loss. As for Yuzvendra Chahal, he was carted all over, with little in response.
Hooda wasn’t bowled, but Sharma almost always had a 10-plus asking rate to defend, so the part-timer wasn’t really merited. The skipper had surely hoped for better things from Chahal and also Pandya.
In all the song and dance, everyone tends to forget that India and Pakistan both have to deal with a resurgent Sri Lanka and an ever-threatening Afghanistan. The organisers’ pipe dream of yet another India-Pakistan clash is still to fructify. Keep watching, since you never know in T20 cricket.
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