For the second running day, we saw that a good start is not the only thing that is needed to a win a game but it is the continuous act of weaving of that fabric which helps you to get to the target.
On Saturday, it was Sri Lanka and today it was Pakistan that lost the game despite having a good start.
After asking Virat Kohli-led team to bat first, Pakistan bowlers bowled perfectly to keep the Indian batsmen silent. Rohit Sharma was seen struggling against Mohammad Amir but there was lesson hidden in that slow start which was learnt later when the first pair shared 136 runs in 24.3 overs before Dhawan gave an easy catch to Azhar Ali.
The succeeding batsmen cashed upon a good start provided by the opening pair, especially Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya, who played freely at the end of the innings, knowing the fact that they have a number of wickets left if they get out while going big. There was just a little pressure on them and they had a cracker of a game, as Yuvraj smacked 53 off just 32 balls, whereas, Pandya fired 20 runs in just six balls. An inning of 81* from Kohli was the cherry on the cake.
The start was going to be crucial for Pakistan due to the fact that they had a big target of 324 ahead of the and also due to the fear of rain intrusions. They had a good start and gave indications of chasing down the target but just after the fall of the first wicket, what followed was a big surprise.
They were bundled out on a total of 164, which can be called as one side affair due to the fact that only two batsmen could cross the mark of 20, which strange when looking at the huge target that Pakistan was asked to chase by India.
Umesh Yadav was the highest wicket taker for India, as he bagged three wickets, whereas, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja pouched two wickets each to get the job done.
Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan skipper, in the post match presentation opined that the game was under Pakistan’s control for the first forty overs but it was the slump in death overs that took the game away from them. Here is what the losing skipper said in the presentation ceremony –
Sarfraz Ahmed: “Everything was under control after 40 overs, but we lost the plot in the last eight. Credit to India’s batsmen. They scored 124 in those last eight, and the momentum went to India. I think we need to stick together and control our bowling rate, especially last few overs.”