Kohli Masterclass Saves India after Amir Opening Burst

India Vs Pakistan - Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 27th February 2016 - Asia Cup Match Review

India Beat Pakistan by 5 Wickets with 27 Balls to Spare

The match was being held in Mirpur, Dhaka but cricket fans had thronged to the stadium hours before the match to catch the ‘Mother of All Battles’ take place between arch rivals India and Pakistan in the T20I clash in the Asia Cup 2016. MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first on another green pitch. Dhawan missed out due to a niggle while Pakistan were going in with 4 fast bowlers – Amir, Irfan, Sami and Wahab.

It was clearly to be a battle between the strong Indian batting line up and the fearsome 4 pronged Pakistani pace battery. Pakistan needed a score around 120-130 to be in with a shout on a pitch that has afforded much help to the faster bowlers. Hafeez hit a lovely square drive in the first over but Nehra scalped him on the 4th ball of the first over; the ball bouncing more than expected and took the glove.

Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor looked to be getting in to a bit of a groove when Bumrah got a slower delivery to bounce more and Sharjeel guided the ball to Rahane standing at a widish slip. Manzoor was then run out when Malik sold him a dummy, Kohli hitting the bulls eye! Malik himself departed in the very next over chasing a wide one off Hardik Pandya. When Yuvraj got Umar Akmal off the very first ball of his spell, Pakistan were tottering at 35-5 in the 8th over.  Afridi was run out off the last ball of the same Yuvi over when he tried to steal a second after hitting the ball to deep mid-wicket but a laser accurate throw at the top of the stumps by Jadeja meant that even a sprawling dive was not enough to save him.

Pakistan were in a real mess and although Sarfaraz kept them in a hunt with a 25 off 24 balls but that was never going to pose a major problem. Pakistan was bundled out for just 83 runs in 17.3 overs with Pandya taking 3 wickets. Ashwin went wicket-less in his 3 overs giving away 21 runs, the costliest of the Indian bowlers!

Going in to the break, everybody would have thought that this will be a cake walk for Team India but Mohammad Amir had different ideas. He bowled a toe crushing, in swinging yorker first up that hit Rohit flush but he survived a close leg before shout. The very next ball slanted across Rohit but curled back in at the last moment after pitching on a good length and after missing his inside edge hit him on the pads again. The umpire had no hesitation this time and Rohit departed for a duck. After Kohli got an edgy single down to third man, Rahane faced up to a fired up Amir and got another cracking in coming delivery that caught him right in front of his stumps and he too departed without troubling the scorers! India 2-2 after 1 and the match was on!!

Raina hopped around helplessly bur Amir put him out of his misery in his second over, Raina offering a tame scoop to Wahab stationed at mid-on. Kohli, at this point absorbed all the pressure and all that was thrown at him with an intense show of concentration and skill while Yuvraj struggled to lay bat to ball at the other end as he looked completely at sea against the moving ball. Virat plundered 15 off the 9th over bowled by Wahab and it was at this point that the match seemed to be in India’s grasp finally. Sami landed two more blows to India getting Kohli leg before to a fortuitous decision and Pandya caught in the slip by Hafeez for a duck but Dhoni ended it with a thumping boundary to set off wild celebrations among the Indian supporters all across the globe!!

It will be an engrossing duel in the ICC WT20 2016 at Dharamshala where the ball will certainly do a bit at the high altitude and with the picturesque snow clad mountains providing the backdrop I am eagerly awaiting Kohli Vs Amir lip smacking battle to resume!!

Old Enemies Clash in a Battle for Asian Supremacy

India Vs Pakistan - Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 27th February 2016 - Asia Cup Match Preview

It’s that time of the year again!! India and Pakistan will finally meet on the cricket field after their mouth watering clash at the ICC World Cup 2015 at Adelaide when India convincingly defeated Pakistan by 76 runs. In many ways, this match is just a prelude before the bigger battle is fought in Dharamsala next month in the ICC WT20 2016. But then, no Indo-Pak match can be lamely termed as a just another game. There will be Bangladeshi fans flocking to the grounds and the streets in both the countries will be empty as the two Asian giants go head to head today at Dhaka in Bangladesh.

India has been in tremendous T20I form over the past 7 matches having lost just a solitary game against a touring Sri Lankan team on a green track in Pune. They brushed aside Australia 3-0 down under before giving Bangladesh a trashing in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2016. Pakistan on the other hand has been busy with the recently concluded PSL, where most of its stars took part.

It will be a lip smacking encounter between the Pakistani quick bowling and the in-form Indian batting line up. It is one thing taming an inexperienced Australian and Sri Lankan bowling line ups but Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli will not find bullying the returning but prodigious Amir, the giant Irfan and the venom spewing Wahab all that easy on a pitch which is expected to have a greenish tinge and offer help to the pace bowlers.

It might all come down to how the Pakistani line up faces up to the spin of Ashwin and Jadeja although batsmen like Hafeez and Shoaib Malik are probably the most equipped batsmen to play spin. Nehra and Bumrah might also fancy their chances against the brittle Pakistani batting if they can get swing and bounce like they managed against Bangladesh.

This match is very important not only in the context of how this Asia Cup pans out for these two teams but also because it will give a huge psychological edge to the winning team ahead of their clash on the 19th of March in the ICC WT20. Both the captains, Shahid Afridi and MS Dhoni, might insist that this just like another game for them but deep down they are aware of the pressures, the trials and the tribulations that come in the face of an India Pakistan clash.

Key Battles: India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup T20I 2016 at Mirpur in Dhaka

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Vs Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Amir

Umer Akmal and Shoaib Malik Vs R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja

Yuvraj Singh Vs Shahid Afridi

Cricket World Cup 2015 Match Preview - India Vs Pakistan

India Vs Pakistan - Adelaide Oval, 15th February 2015

Every Cricket fan across the country marked out February 15 2015 with a 'Big Red Cross' on the calendar as soon as the fixtures of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 were announced. Not that a mark was needed for the Big Clash to be remembered but no one really wanted to take a chance. Top executives heaved a sigh of relief as the match was slated to take place on Sunday and the school children rejoiced as there would now be no need to fake a stomachache, a headache or feign death of a non-existing-far-away-relative!!

The last time these two met in the World Cup 

in a mouth watering semi final clash in 2011 in Mohali.

India won by 29 runs on that balmy night.

Coming to the cricket let me review this match which will set the tone for both the Asian Giants as to how their World Cup pans out.

India has been woeful since they have landed in Australia and have just won a warm up game against Afghanistan. Even in that match the severity of the weak Indian bowling was laid bare for all to see as they could not bowl out Afghanistan in 50 overs. On a positive note Rohit Sharma has looked in fine form recently and he will hold the key to India's fortunes vs Pakistan. Rahane has continued to impress me and I believe that he is the best Indian batsmen currently who can adapt to any condition and is adept at pacing his innings to a nicety. Kohli has struggled for runs since the ODI's began down under and his wretched form continued in both the warm up games as well. Raina and Dhoni have also been scratchy and India will hope that the troika of Kohli, Raina and Dhoni will stand up and deliver once the crunch game begins.

Indian bowling continues to cut a sorry figure and they look lost and utterly helpless at what is to be done out in the middle. Umesh Yadav has been good in patches but continues to serve freebies once or twice every over thus relieving the pressure. Shami and Bhuvaneshwar, two bowlers who began so well in international cricket, have also looked bereft of ideas and skills recently. Spin fares no better as R Ashwin is more a mystery to me as to how he gets selected each time despite mediocre performances and Jadeja is coming off an injury. Akshar Patel has looked good in some of the games that he has been a part of and I think that he must be played by India. Stuart Binny is another player who I think can deliver for India both with the bat and the ball.

Pakistan batting will be led by their aging star Misbah while Younis Khan has also almost always relished the Indian bowling. Ahmed Shehzad is the explosive opener and has been in decent form lately, Pakistan will be hoping that he can lay down a solid platform at the top of the order. Hafeez has been ruled out with an injury and Nasir Jamshed has been drafted in his place though I believe that Pakistan must open with their wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz as he comes across as a man with intent and keeps the scoreboard ticking. Haris Sohail and Shoaib Maqsood are the two rookies who are also very talented and I am looking forward to seeing them in this World Cup. Umer Akmal and Shahid Afridi lurk down the order and it will be important for the Indians not to let these dangerous batsmen get their eye in else they can take the match away in a matter of a few overs.

In a big surprise, the Pakistan bowling also lacks the bite and spice this time around. Junaid Khan is ruled out injured and their spin talisman Saeed Ajmal (who was banned from bowling for chucking) was cleared to bowl after the squad was already announced. There is no Gul either. The onus of providing the breakthroughs will rest on the tall Irfan who is certain to trouble the Indians with the extra bounce that he generates. Wahab Riaz is a sharp operator but can be erratic at times. I have not seen much of Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil and Sohail Khan so can't comment on them but Pakistani's have a habit of producing quality fast bowlers so it will not be a huge surprise if any of these little known names become household stars in this match. Yasir Shah and Afridi will be the spin options and both are good. There is the option of Haris Sohail as well who can be a pretty useful part timer.

Key Battles: India vs Pakistan

Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli vs Mohammed Irfan

Umer Akmal and Shahid Afridi vs R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja

As this will the first match for the teams, the match will be more important as it may well set the tone for their upcoming matches. A winning start over the arch rivals will give so much confidence ahead of the long tournament. Plus a huge pressure match will be over and done with early on so that they can concentrate on the future games. A lot of these India-Pakistan games are not necessarily decided by the execution of skills but the handling of pressure in the big moments. The fans will fondly remember the pyrotechnics of Aamir Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad in the 1996 encounter, the class of Sachin in the 2003 clash and the humdinger in Mohali in the semi-finals from 2011. All in all we are in store for a cracker of a match between these two old foes.

Battle Lines have been drawn, War Cries have been bellowed, Mind Games have already begun... Now the fans are waiting for the Umpire to shout 'Lets Play Gentlemen!'