THE HAMMERING

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo [September 10-11, 2023].

Heavyweights India were facing co-hosts Pakistan in the Super 4 of the Asia Cup. Interestingly, they did have a face-off in the group stage, but the match ended in a draw because of rain. Furthermore, to avoid a washout of such a huge clash, it was decided by the Cricket Boards to have one reserve day for the Super 4 tie. It turned out to be a great decision because the rain did play spoiler on 10th September, and the match eventually got over on 11th. 

 So now let's talk about this much-anticipated game. In the previous encounter at Kandy, the Pakistani Pacers literally blew away the Indian Top Order. It was only because of Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan that we managed to reach a respectable total of 266. As a result, it was felt by many that the Pakistanis were entering the match as favorites and the pressure was upon Men in Blue. 

However, what happened in the next 2 days will be remembered by every Indian as well as Pakistani Cricket Fan. The Men in Blue literally hammered their neighbor. It was literally a one-sided affair, as India beat Pakistan by a margin of 228 runs. It was indeed a complete demolition of the Men in Green.

So how it unfolded. Let's go back to 10th September. On a batting-friendly wicket, Pakistani Captain Babar Azam won the toss and decided to field first. The Pakistanis were expecting that their bowling line-up would repeat their Kandy heroics. However, this time the Indian top order literally blew away their pace attack. Captain Sharma (56) and Gill (58) provided India with a quick start as the duo batted at a run rate of 7 runs per over and stitched a partnership of 121 runs. By the time both of them were dismissed, the scorecard read 123/2 at the end of 17.5 overs.

This is when Virat Kohli and KL Rahul got into action. The duo batted for 32 overs together and took India to a massive total of 356/2 in 50 overs. Virat Kohli scored a quickfire 122 off 94 deliveries, whereas KL Rahul, in his comeback game, scored a gritty 111 off 106 balls. They took every Pakistani bowler to the sword. Virat Kohli hit 9 boundaries and 3 sixes to complete his hundred, whereas KL Rahul hit 12 boundaries and 2 sixes. It felt like men were playing against boys. 

The Men in Green needed 357 runs to win the game. It was never going to be easy, and the only thing that they could have prayed for was rain. Fortunately, their prayers were not heard, and we had a complete game. However, what happened in the Pakistani innings was as exciting as the Indian innings. The Indian bowlers came hard and knocked them out for just 128 runs. Kuldeep Yadav was the leading wicket taker for the Indians as he picked up 5 wickets. It is interesting to note that on a pitch where Indian batsmen were scoring so freely, the Pakistanis struggled to survive. None of their batsmen managed to get even a half-century. It was such a dominating day for the Indians. 

We just did not beat them. We hammered them.

To watch the Highlights of that Match, Click Here.