India captain Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh made Pakistan pay for fluffing catches with quickfire fifties as the holders launched their Champions Trophy title-defence with a rain-affected 124 run thrashing of their arch-rivals at Edgbaston yesterday.
After India made 319 for three in 48 overs, the third rain stoppage of the match left Pakistan with a revised target of 289 in 41 overs when play resumed in bright sunshine. But Pakistan, rarely up with the stiff run-rate, finished on 164 for nine, with injured last man Wahab Riaz unable to bat as India won with 44 balls to spare. Kohli, who on Saturday had dismissed reports of a rift with India coach Anil Kumble, was equally contemptuous of Pakistan’s attack during a blistering innings of 81 not out off just 68 balls that included six fours and three sixes.
Left-hander Yuvraj, named man-of-the-match for his game-changing innings, smashed a rapid 53 while helping Kohli add 93 for the third wicket in just 59 balls. That was not the end of the run spree, with Hardik Pandya hitting sixes off the first three balls of left-arm spinner Imad Wasim’s last over of the innings. India smashed 72 off their final four overs as Pakistan’s attack wilted. Rohit Sharma (91) and Shikhar Dhawan (68) laid the platform with an opening stand of 136. Mohammad Amir was the pick of Pakistan’s attack with none for 32 in 8.1 overs.
But fellow left-arm fast bowler Wahab was hugely expensive, his wicketless 8.4 overs costing 87 runs. Wahab’s day was summed up when he was unable to complete his ninth over after falling awkwardly in his delivery stride.
Before the match, players, officials and a crowd of 24,156 — a record for a one-day international at Edgbaston — observed a minute’s silence for the victims of Saturday’s London terror attack that killed seven people.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss in what was the opening Group B match for both the Asian giants in a tournament featuring the world’s top eight ODI teams. Sharma was fortunate when, on 21, he edged Amir just beyond a diving Azhar Ali at slip for four.
Pakistan were donated a wicket, however, when Dhawan hoisted a full toss from teenage leg-spinner Shadab Khan straight to Azhar at deep midwicket. Sharma went 43 balls without a boundary in the face of tight Pakistan bowling before cover-driving and pulling Wahab for a four and a six off successive deliveries.
But eyeing what would have been his 11th ODI hundred, Rohit was run out when he just failed to beat Babar Azam’s throw to wicket-keeper Sarfraz after Kohli’s call for a tight single. It was the end of a 119-ball innings featuring two sixes and seven fours.
Yuvraj should have been out for eight but Hasan Ali, sliding round at long-on, dropped the two-handed catch off Shadab. Hasan eventually had Yuvraj lbw on review but by then the damage had been done. Kohli had made 43 when he was missed by substitute Fakhar Zaman, who could not hold a top-edged hook off Wahab. A blizzard of boundaries followed, with Kohli flat-batting Hasan down the ground for six to complete his fifty.
Pakistan, who only just qualified for the Champions Trophy when eighth in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings, saw Azhar Ali make exactly 50 in 65 balls with six fours. But no member of India’s attack leaked runs in the way Wahab had done.
Azhar was caught at deep square leg by Hardik Pandya, trying to hit left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for six. New batsman Shoaib Malik did loft Jadeja for a straight six. But Jadeja had his revenge by running Shoaib out with a direct hit from backward point to leave Pakistan all but out of the game at 114 for four in the 24th over. Umesh Yadav (three for 30) ended the match when Hasan fell for a duck.
Kohli was all praise for the his team’s batting performance and made a special mention of Hardik Pandya’s brutal hitting at the end of the innings.
“With the bat and the ball we were right up there, 9 out of 10. In the field we were 6 out of 10. If we tune that upto 8 or 9, we will be a very strong side in the tournament. I think this was a very complete performance starting the tournament,” Kohli said after the match. “Last time we won here, Shikhar (Dhawan) and Rohit were the key. The intent from Shikhar was outstanding. Rohit took his time. He needed runs under his belt.
“From the next game he will be expressive and we all know what kind of a batsman he is. I felt like a club batter in front of Yuvi. He took all the pressure off me, when I was not hitting it well. Yuvraj is in the team because he is a game changer. Hardik finishing it off was really outstanding. The batting I would say was 10 out of 10,” added the Indian skipper.
Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh praised Dhawan and Rohit for the start they gave their team and hoped that Team India would take this confidence in to their next match. “I thought we all batted really well,” said Yuvraj. “The openers gave us a good start, Virat finished well, and it gave me the opportunity to go and attack. You just have to go and back yourself, and tell the opposition that you’re here to attack. I was lucky I was dropped, but I capitalised and I was hitting it well. I finished well. India-Pakistan is always a big game, and I think it has set us up really well. Hopefully we’ll take this confidence into the next game against Sri Lanka.”
Scoreboard
India innings
R. Sharma run out (Azam/Sarfraz) 91
S. Dhawan c Ali b Shadab Khan 68
V. Kohli not out 81
Yuvraj Singh lbw b Hasan Ali 53
H. Pandya not out 20
Extras (lb2, w2, nb2) 6
Total (3 wkts, 48 overs) 319
Did not bat: MS Dhoni, K Jadhav, R Jadeja, B Kumar, U Yadav, J Bumrah
Fall of wickets: 1-136 (Dhawan), 2-192 (Sharma), 3-285 (Yuvraj)
Bowling: Amir 8.1-1-32-0; Wasim 9.1-0-66-0 (1w); Ali 10-0-70-1 (1nb); Riaz 8.4-0-87-0 (1nb, 1w); Shadab 10-0-52-1; Shoaib 2-0-10-0
Pakistan (revised target:
289 in 41 overs)
Azhar Ali c Pandya b Jadedja 50
Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Kumar 12
Babar Azam c Jadeja b Yadav 8
M Hafeez c Kumar b Jadeja 33
Shoaib Malik run out (Jadeja) 15
Sarfraz Ahmed c Dhoni b Pandya 15
Imad Wasim c Jadhav b Pandya 0
Shadab Khan not out 14
Mohammad Amir c Jadhav b Yadav 9
Hasan Ali c Dhawan b Yadav 0
Wahab Riaz absent hurt -
Extras (lb2, w6) 8
Total (all out, 33.4 overs) 164
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Shehzad), 2-61 (Babar), 3-91 (Azhar), 4-114 (Shoaib), 5-131 (Hafeez), 6-135 (Wasim), 7-151 (Sarfraz), 8-164 (Amir), 9-164 (Hasan)
Bowling: Kumar 5-1-23-1 (2w); Yadav 7.4-1-30-3 (1w); Bumrah 5-0-23-0; Pandya 8-0-43-2 (3w); Jadeja 8-0-43-2;
Results India won by 124 runs (DLS method)
Man-of-the-match: Yuvraj Singh (IND)
Yuvraj Singh plays a pull shot en route to his whirlwind innings of 53 off 32 balls during the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match against Pakistan at the Edgbaston in Birmingham yesterday. (Reuters)
