Champions Trophy: India v/s Pakistan - The Quick Flicks

Today’s game was billed as the “Final before the Final.” And why not? Two of the Indian subcontinent’s fiercest cricketing rivals were on the field, facing off in what was technically a dead rubber. But any India-Pakistan game is more than just cricket – it’s a battle of wills, a fierce determination to go one-up over your toughest competitor, and earn bragging rights. This was also a contest between India’s much-vaunted batting lineup and Pakistan’s skilled pace attack. In addition, Pakistan has had an impressive record against India in the Champions Trophy – they have never lost to them once. However, they failed to reckon with a new-look Indian side that was bolstered by infusion of youthful enthusiasm and energy. The Men In Blue triumphed over their closest rivals in a rain-affected game. Here are some of the snapshots of today’s game:

Bhuvneshwar Strikes, Jamshed Flops

UP seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to have taken to English conditions as a duck to water. His style of bowling has paid rich dividends in the form of early wickets. Portly left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed, after a fine 2012 Asia Cup outing against the same opponents, seems to have celebrated a bit too much. An away-going delivery with extra bounce caught him napping, and he fell after scoring just 2 runs. Lazy and languid, Jamshed’s inconsistency in this tournament has hurt Pakistan a lot. Crash diet for you, young fellow!

Young Turks on Fire

The Indian team is not particularly known for its fielding. But with the arrival of players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in the side, this particular department has seen a vast improvement. Lightning-quick reflexes, full-length dives and efficient throwing arms have made India a formidable fielding side in this tournament, though they still have a lot of scope for improvement. Kohli’s run-out of Junaid Khan towards the end of Pakistan’s innings was easily the sharpest bit of fielding seen from India today. Signs of good times to come for the Men in Blue!

No Irfan Pathan in the Lineup

I’d have expected MSD to play the left-arm seamer in today’s game and rest a couple of key players. Pathan’s swing bowling would have been far more effective than the long-haired Ishant Sharma’s medium pace, though the lanky Delhi seamer did pick up a couple of wickets. But it seems that the captain is pretty much comfortable with the way things are going. No offence, Chief, but Virat Kohli isn’t an effective part-time bowler. Ishant has still struggled to contain the run flow and pick up wickets (maybe it’s that long mop of his which covers his eyes as he sends down a delivery), and Pathan would have been a much better option.

Misfiring Misbah

Captaincy, holding the middle-order together, leading by example in the field – all this seems to have become too much for 39-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq. As a result, he’s become so confused that he mistook ODI cricket for Test matches. I’ve never seen such slowness in scoring runs – even Rahul Dravid‘s scoring rate in ODIs was far better during his early days in international cricket. If Pakistan has to regain their former glory, I’m afraid Misbah will have to hang up his boots – he’s clearly past his prime, despite being his team’s only consistent batsman in this tournament.

Rain, Rain, You Caused Us Pain

Pakistan might also want to blame the inclement weather at Edgbaston for lapses in concentration by their batsmen. Rain has certainly played spoilsport in most games this time. Strangely, we’re in the middle of the English summer. All we managed to get was 58.5 overs of a game whose result was a foregone conclusion when the skies opened up for another spell of showers. Now, I’m all for having lush green outfields, but too much watering can actually stunt the growth of greenery. If it were not for the groundsmen, we could very well have seen the first-ever cricket match played on water. That would be a sight to behold!

Pakistan thus make an exit from a tournament in which they have traditionally done well. However, they will have to wait for a considerable period of time to exact their revenge on the young Indian side. Till then, the Indian juggernaut rolls on!