India vs Pakistan in any sport is a rivalry that is unmatched. The reason is obvious enough because of what Pakistan is upto. Every Indian wants the nation to prevail over Pakistan in every sport. When it comes to Cricket, the passion is several times magnified because of the sheer passion for the game on both sides of the border. The viewership for yesterday’s game at Dubai was on par with any game between these nations. In the end, India emerged victorious thereby initiating celebrations throughout the land. A neutral will never be able to understand. In the end, it was a fabulous win.
There are so many of us who do not mind even if India does not win the tournament but a victory against our enemy is as good as a tournament win. An overwhelming majority would have been glued to their TV following the action that happened a few miles away.
The milestone problem is not going away
In the end, the game finished with a Kohli hundred. This is one aspect of Indian cricket that just does not away. The chasing of milestones. If it has to happen in the normal course of the innings, so be it but to covet the milestone does not sit well with those who want the team to win and does not care about individual milestones. A couple of games ago, Rahul denied himself runs to help Gill get to his hundred. Here it was Axar Patel.
I do agree that there were lots of overs left and only a few runs to get. What is wrong in allowing a batsman to get to a hundred? Afterall, a hundred is not scored in every game. I understand that but the optics of getting to a milestone is sometimes ugly to look at. This is the difference between us and the Australians for whom any milestone is just a stepping stone to greater success.
I remember the innings when Mark Taylor declared when he was batting on 334. At that point, he was just 40odd away from the world record but he chose to declare. He defended his decision to declare as a tribute to Don Bradman whose highest score was also 334.
The sooner India can come out of this mindset, the better it is for our sporting teams. Gautham Gambhir after taking up as the coach said that one of his priority is to eradicate the practice of celebrating individual milestones rather than a team milestone. I guess he is finding the task too much to bear.
Allround contribution
Nevertheless, it was a fascinating victory. One that was set-up by the bowlers and capitalised by the batsmen. What was heartening to see was that almost everyone contributed in one way or other. Kohli with his hundred, Rahul with his keeping, Kuldeep with 3 wickets, other bowlers chipping in with crucial wickets and the top order batsmen contributing runs. In a way, Gambhir’s intention of team game, came to fruition.
Tendulkar tweeted, “A perfect ending to the most awaited match. A real knockout! Team India. Superb knocks by @imVkohli, @ShreyasIyer15, and @ShubmanGill, and wonderful bowling by our bowlers, especially @imkuldeep18 and @hardikpandya7!”
Brilliant Kohli innings
It is becoming increasingly clear that ODI is the format that is most suited for both Kohli and Rohit. It was a masterclass while chasing. Kohli developed his reputation based on such innumerable number of chases. He is at complete ease while chasing. It is difficult to find someone who is as calm and calculated as Kohli while chasing.
“I think one of the keynotes there is I kept telling myself in the field – whenever I was feeling a bit down – that I’m going to put my 100% on every ball that I field,” Kohli told the official broadcast. “And at some time, I will get the rewards for the hard work that I’m putting in on the ground. That’s why I take a lot of pride in working hard, and running around the field as well. And yeah, when you put your head down and you work hard enough, then I think god rewards you accordingly. So I’m very grateful and thankful to god.”
He controlled the middle game quite beautifully. He was aware of his weakness against those deliveries that turn away from him. Keeping that in mind, he played Abrar Ahmed and Kushdil Shah safely and launched himself against the quicker bowlers.
Wrapping up a fabulous win
With a difficult game out of the way, this is not the time to relax. Stiffer competitions are ahead, most notably, our bogey team New Zealand. India does have all the bases covered. They will have to go all the way and lift the tournament. If at all they have to improve on something, it has to be wickets in the middle overs. They picked up wickets against Pakistan but against better teams, they are likely to take the attack to the bowlers. How will the bowlers react to that scenario will determine Championship Title.
