India miles ahead of Pakistan in so-called greatest rivalry
Vande Mataram, India's national song, being sung by over a lakh spectators and reverberating around the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad made a perfect setting for the Men in Blue to put in yet another dominant performance over Pakistan in cricket World Cups.
It wasn’t just a comprehensive thrashing, but a reminder that this may no longer be the greatest sporting rivalry. The political history between the two nations, coupled with the fierce encounters they have had across formats in the past, often make India-Pakistan games seem much more than just a cricket match.
But whenever the two teams have stepped onto the field recently, the gulf in quality and temperament has been apparent, especially in the ODI format. The 8-0 head-to-head record in ODI World Cups adds a remarkable exclamation mark to the fact that Pakistan have struggled to compete against India on big stages.
There are several factors behind it and that leads us to a deep dive into what Pakistan did wrong in Ahmedabad and what India got right.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan didn't really press on the accelerator
The general notion after Pakistan's innings was they tried aiming for a total in excess of 300 and fell flat on their face. But the truth couldn't be any farther as it was their lack of temperament and game awareness that cost them more than anything else.
At 155/2 in the 30th over, Pakistan had India exactly where they would have wanted at the start of the game - under pressure and pondering whether bowling first was the right decision. The hosts' shoulders were beginning to drop with almost no movement off the surface and no help in the air.
However, as Hardik Pandya mentioned to the host broadcaster after the game, it was Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's reserved approach that kept the Men in Blue in the game. The duo took 103 balls to add 82 runs, not an ideal rate if you are looking to score in excess of 300.
Ravindra Jadeja mindfully rushed through his overs with supreme accuracy while Babar and Rizwan were batting. Most of his deliveries were hit straight to short cover or mid-wicket, with every dot increasing pressure on the two batters.
The wickets column still read two but the modest rate of scoring meant that Rohit Sharma could bring Mohammed Siraj back into the attack for a short burst despite being expensive.
Despite reaching his half-century, Babar seemed reluctant to make use of his feet and score aggressively, thereby losing his off-stump to a failed dab at third-man region. India got the opening that frankly they should never have had from Siraj, especially from Pakistan's point of view.
Indian bowlers deserve credit, but Pakistan pressed the self-destruct button
Babar's wicket meant that the onus was now on Mohammad Rizwan who was batting on 47 off 58 balls. It was his responsibility to keep the scoreboard ticking as Saud Shakeel settled at the other end. However, the batting from the senior pro was far from inspiring.
The partnership between Shakeel and Rizwan lasted just 16 balls, out of which nine were dots. Both batters, not learning from the mistakes from the last partnership, tried to milk singles square of the wicket but kept on finding fielders instead. Shakeel was trapped on a delivery that he could have driven down the ground, but the urge to just play it square proved to be the reason for his demise.
Iftikhar Ahmed tried to take the initiative away from India and got a boundary as well. But while Rizwan was too defensive, Iftikhar was at the other end of the spectrum, trying to be a bit too adventurous and losing his leg pole. Rohit being the proactive captain that he is, rightly brought Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack as they sniffed blood.
Bumrah, being a wily bowler, was aware that Rizwan was happy to tap the ball square of the wicket to take singles. That allowed the speedster to bowl a fuller length, getting Rizwan into a tangle. The wicketkeeper could only score two runs in 11 balls after Babar's wicket and departed playing all around a fantastic slower delivery from Bumrah. It was a procession of wickets in an 80-ball passage that resulted in a tame surrender.
Pakistan bowlers were at the receiving end of a masterclass in partnerships from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul last month in Sri Lanka. They could have taken a cue from how the two batters consolidated initially after losing both their set openers and then ensured that there was no stagnation due to a lack of strike rotation.
The captaincy from Rohit and the execution of the Indian bowlers was brilliant. But the manner in which the rest of the Pakistan batting line-up capitulated from a position of strength, exposed their lack of temperament compared to their counterparts.
Pakistan didn't have the ammunition to challenge India
The India-Pakistan Super Fours game of Asia Cup 2023 proved to be a dress rehearsal of what to expect from Pakistan's bowling, which had no answers to India's belligerent batting.
Pakistan were already without Naseem Shah, which meant that Shaheen Afridi striking early was crucial to their chances. But as Rohit Sharma flicked the first ball for a boundary over square leg, the result started seeming like a foregone conclusion.
Shaheen's pace had fallen drastically and Hasan Ali couldn't emulate Naseem's impact. Haris Rauf had yet another day of 'the faster it comes to the bat, the faster it goes to the fence', and while spinners took a semblance of control, there weren't enough runs remaining on the board.
India showed that if there was no help with the new ball, they still had the quality to dig deep, build pressure, and grind out the wickets. That is the thing with quality sides that they end up finding a way to compete, something Pakistan are far from at the moment.
To have such a capitulation with the bat right after completing a World Cup record chase against Sri Lanka puts big question marks on their temperament in big matches. India, with their performance on Saturday, showed a mirror to Pakistan on how far they currently are from their arch-rivals.
Of course, there is the possibility that Pakistan strike early with the ball to set up a win against India when the two teams meet in the future. But the lack of penetration with the ball, failure to gauge conditions correctly with the bat and overall quality across departments create a wide gulf between the two sides at the moment.
How long will it take for Pakistan to break their World Cup jinx against India? Only time will tell. But until that moment, the Men in Blue should and will start as overwhelming favorites, far from how the greatest rivalry as it's claimed to be, should play out.