CWC 2023: Match Report - India v/s Pakistan
Top-class Indian bowling & Rohit set up another big win to mostly confirm their spot in the Semis. Pakistan's batters had an off-day, but they need their bowlers to step up.
The build-up
As the World Cup entered Round 3, hosts India took on Pakistan. The match could not be set up better with both teams starting with 4 points and a solid net run rate. Pakistan’s batting has looked in great touch with young Abdullah Shafique scoring a hundred last game and Mohammed Rizwan continuing his solid form in ODIs. With Saud Shakeel getting runs in the 1st game, captain Babar Azam is the key player who’s due some runs.
Similarly, their main strike bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi hasn’t also quite looked at his best yet, but he has a solid record versus India and cannot be taken lightly. India in their two wins have also checked most boxes - runs by Rohit, Virat, and KL Rahul. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav’s accuracy with the ball with one particularly solid spell by Ravi Jadeja in Chennai.
The pitch report & Siraj-Bumrah’s opening spell
The pitch seemed like a surface that would get better for batting, and there was a chance of dew coming in later in the day. Therefore, India had no hesitation in winning the toss and batting first. The most complete bowler in the world, Jasprit Bumrah, started where he left off against Afghanistan. He hit the good length range with immaculate lines and 16 of his first 18 deliveries were dot balls.
ODI World # 2, Mohammed Siraj came into the World Cup in red-hot form. Siraj wasn’t consistent enough with his length versus Afghanistan and started the game against Pakistan by giving against 3 boundaries. His line could have been marginally better in the 1st over but after searching for some swing initially, Siraj settled back well into the 6-8M “good length” range. However, considering teams play Jasprit Bumrah with caution, Siraj’s role is that of the wicket-taker, so the Indian team will not be worried about the odd boundary or two.
At 49/1, things were more or less even after 10 overs. Pakistan had neither run away with it nor had India made too much of a dent.
Babar Azam & Mohammed Rizwan in the middle overs
Although India and Pakistan only play each other in multi-nation tournaments, Babar Azam’s record coming into this game was the worst against India with an average of under 31. He had started well through, rotating the strike and taking a few gorgeous boundaries including a trademark cover drive versus Shardul Thakur. With the pitch not playing too many tricks, as long as he managed the odd ball keeping low, he had a great chance to get his 1st ODI fifty or hundred versus India.
Mohammed Rizwan was a little scratchy to start, batting with control % in the low 80s even though he was scoring quite slowly. But the fighter that he is, he continued to rotate strikes and tried to build a partnership with his captain. Pakistan’s batters are known to take their time in the middle overs, they rotate the strike, and take fewer risks to keep wickets in hand for a push in the final overs.
Since 2022, between overs 11 and 40, Pakistan has averaged the highest with the bat (47), but they score the slowest. These two batters followed the same template that has brought them success. India’s bowlers had other plans though.
India’s bowling discipline
Even when Babar and Rizwan were building a partnership, the Indian bowlers were accurate and kept things tight. Between overs 14 and 29, Pakistan did not lose a wicket but they scored at just 76 runs at 4.75 an over. This ensured that Pakistan had not raced forward too much and they had to work very hard to try and find any boundaries. The tactics, the bowling changes, and the discipline - all contributed to what came next.
To try and take advantage of this pitch which was staying low, India brought back by Mohammed Siraj. As he skidded the ball past Babar Azam’s defense, India found the breakthrough they were looking for. He was superbly supported at the other end by Kuldeep Yadav. Pakistani batters have been solid against spin, except against Kuldeep Yadav’s googlies as he removed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed in the same over to open the floodgates.
And what can you say of Jasprit Bumrah that hasn’t been said already? Bumrah is an absolute genius with the ability to toy with batters. Playing his first ODI at home, he got Mohammed Rizwan with a beautiful off-cutter before cleaning up Shadab Khan with the angle. Both balls smacked into the top of the off-stump as the 100,000+ Indian fans at the stadium went crazy.
The Pakistan team will admit that there were a couple of poor shots though. Iftikhar having already scored a four on his 2nd ball, decided to sweep Kuldeep Yadav later in the over. While it was a touch unlucky to have gone on to hit the stumps, he could have been a little more patient after 2 quick wickets had already gone down. Hassan Ali tried to counter-attack against Ravindra Jadeja at a point when 9 overs were still remaining and Pakistan had just 2 wickets in hand. Although it was unlikely Pakistan would have recovered from that situation, trying to bat through 50 overs to get to about 235 would have been advisable.
Form & chances
With a target of just 192, I was wondering if Rohit will continue his current method of going hard in the top 10 overs, or try to bat out the spell of Shaheen Shah Afridi safely since he was the main threat. He took 1 ball to answer that as he hoicked the first ball of the innings for an effortless four. For Indian fans, the other question in mind was how Shubman Gill will bat after dengue. Although his stay in the middle was brief, Gill showed his class and timed a couple of exquisite cover drives as if he had not missed a second.
India are playing up to the tag of being tournament favorites. They have played 3 matches of different calibers on a variety of pitches and while they have been tested, they have found answers each time. India will be hoping that Shubman Gill and the lower order in Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja get some more time in the middle. Some wickets for Shardul Thakur would be ideal. They have nearly confirmed a spot in the semis at this point, and they will be sure to give their bench a chance in upcoming games.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has a few more questions to answer. Since they already have two wins, they are still in with a chance but the key concern for Pakistan remains their bowling which has been off-color. Obviously, Naseem’s injury is hurting them, but both Afridi and Haris Rauf haven’t been as threatening. Their spinners will need to do much better considering they have gone take 5 wickets at 61 a piece so far (with an economy of 6). Shadab Khan needs to find his rhythm and be more consistent with his length. Even though their batting collapsed today, their top 6 have some runs under their belt, and they will hope that Babar and Rizwan in particular can convert the starts to score enough runs for their bowlers to defend.