ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India vs Pakistan: 5 Talking Points
India beat their arch-rivals Pakistan by a mammoth margin of 124-runs via the D/L method in the second match of Group-B at Edgbaston in the Champions Trophy. Winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed chose to field first on a flat track considered to be a batting beauty. It was clear from that decision that they didn’t want to end up on the wrong side if the D/L method came into play.
However, India made Pakistan pay for their indecision as they posted a mammoth total of 319/3 riding on fifties from Shikhar Dhawan (68), Rohit Sharma (91), Yuvraj Singh (53) and Virat Kohli (81*). It was Hardik Pandya’s cameo, 20 runs off just 6 deliveries, that served as the icing on the cake as he took Imad Wasim for three consecutive sixes in the final over.
Pakistan got off to a decent start chasing the total having scored 47 runs for the first wicket. However, they fell like a pack of cards soon as the pressure of run-rate kept mounting. Ultimately, they were bowled out for 164 runs thus giving India an easy victory.
Let us now have a look at the five talking points of the match:
#1 Pakistan Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s poor bowling tactics
Mohammad Amir made a terrific start with the ball as he troubled Rohit Sharma with some movement in the very first over of the innings. He swung the ball both ways and bowled a maiden over first up. However, Sarfraz Ahmed showed poor captaincy skills as he brought on Imad Wasim to bowl spin from the other end in the very next over. The condition was tailor-made for seam and swing but he wasted that bowling three straight overs from Imad Wasim.
Thus, he handed over the momentum to the Indians as spin bowling can hardly trouble them. Moreover, Amir induced an edge off Rohit’s willow but Sarfraz had only Azhar Ali stationed at the first slip. He tried his best but the ball was out of his reach. It would only had been a chance if they had another slip stationed there.
Another mistake was not building on the pressure when they got the big wicket of Shikhar Dhawan. Sarfraz introduced spin from both ends as Kohli walked out to bat. The duo of Rohit Sharma and Kohli obliged as introduction of spin made it much easier for them to settle down at the crease. Both carried on and stitched together a partnership of 56 runs for the second wicket.