India’s drubbing of Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday underlined a truism of the ongoing World Cup, as well as that of where the ODI format stands in such conditions. That batting and bowling in India, and by extension anywhere in south Asia, is a very specific art. To win, you must have the precise batsmen and bowlers to do the job on a consistent basis.
This is why India are favourites to win the World Cup. They have near perfected the art of putting up match-winning totals in these conditions, as well as taking the required number of wickets to win matches. They have an unparalleled home record in ODIs, with only one team, Australia, having won a series in India since 2015. In the last eight years, India have won 41 of 59 ODIs at home, with 17 defeats and one tied result. This run spans series wins over New Zealand (thrice), West Indies (thrice), England (twice), Sri Lanka (twice), Australia (twice) and South Africa. No team can boast that success rate at home, but what really separates India from their competitors is the ability of their players to succeed on a consistent basis, with minimum fuss.
Against Australia in Chennai on October 8, India got a slow and dry track and had three varied spinners to call on to spin a web around their opponents. Three days later, on a flat track in Delhi, India had Jasprit Bumrah whose 4/39 were gold on such a deck and Kuldeep Yadav to stymie runs. In Ahmedabad, on a pitch with runs for the getting but with a hint of turn, India had bowlers of a rare breed to flummox Pakistan.
How often have you seen a team lose eight wickets for 36 runs to hand the game over? Pakistan, after Rohit opted to field, were 155/2 in the 30th over. Babar Azam had finally found form, and had secured himself a first half-century against India in ODIs. Mohammad Rizwan, coming off a century versus Sri Lanka, was set. Pakistan should have had 300 in their sights. Instead, they failed to get to 200.
In less than 14 overs of madness, Pakistan went from 155/2 to 191 all out. Terrific bowling? No. Poor batting? Mostly. Luck? A slice. What this was, is the effect that India’s bowlers can have on any opponent in home conditions. The ability to keep up the pressure with dot balls and singles, such as Kuldeep and Ravinda Jadeja did. To squeeze boundaries and force batsmen into rash shots. The ability for a quick bowler to be called back after the mid-way mark of a 50-over innings and make the ball do something. For his new-ball partner to be summoned for and for the said bowler to turn the match around.
We’re talking, firstly, about Mohammed Siraj, who pinned Babar at the crease, on 50, with a delivery that was from the realm of Test cricket. Nothing in the pitch for Siraj, but he used the older ball to wonderous effect by getting it to cut and stay low. Babar, seeking a run to third man, was bowled. Siraj’s first World Cup began with two poor matches, but such is the man’s skill that he snapped a dangerous opening stand earlier in the match against Pakistan and then, entrusted with a specific role by Rohit, he took out the biggest batsman.
Next, we come to the control. Kuldeep had bowled nine wicketless overs and you wondered if he was getting frustrated. He hadn’t bowled poorly at all, and was instrumental alongside Jadeja in adding to Pakistan’s confusion. Kuldeep wants wickets, and when he did not have one in 54 deliveries, it seemed he might try too much in his last six. On cue, Saud Shakeel played back instead of forward and was trapped lbw. Reward at last for a very fine wrist-spinner enjoying the best passage of his ODI career. It was Kuldeep’s restrictive bowling that had forced Pakistan to try something.
Now, to the luck aspect. Kuldeep’s last over of the match produced a second wicket, when Iftikhar Ahmed tried to sweep a googly that pitched way outside leg stump. The ball brushed his glove and then ricocheted onto the stumps. Two wickets in the over and Pakistan 166/5.
And here came the mastery. Bumrah was called on for a job, to finish this off swiftly. With his non-fast bowler’s approach to the bowling crease, off a deceptively short runup, Bumrah earned himself the Player-of-the-Match award. Rizwan, on 49, had no idea how to cope with a jagged offcutter that hit off stump. A shake of the head and wry smile said it all. Then Shadab Khan, capable of damage, was made to look like a novice when Bumrah clipped the top of off stump with a peach. Cutter, length, a bit of bounce all of a sudden. Shadab stood at the crease to defend tall, but missed the delivery. For the third time in the span of a few overs, two pace bowlers with immense skill had conjured magic out of the surface to pile on the agony for a stupefied Pakistan batting order.
This is the depth that India can call on at the World Cup, and lets not forget that Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami sat on the bench during the win over Pakistan.
And now, with Shubman Gill back, India’s batting just went up a notch. Gill, 24, is the leading run-getter of the year in ODI cricket and his ability to crack what it takes to put up massive totals in India is an asset that no other team possesses.
Watching Rohit make a mockery of a target of 192 just underlined what he has left to do in the World Cup, which is his last. Virat Kohli is in fine touch, Shreyas Iyer has come back from a shocking shot in the first match to quell his critics with two consecutive not-out innings to finish chases, and KL Rahul looks like a fine asset at No 5. Hardik Pandya and Jadeja have not been tested in the middle order so far, which remains the one potential weak spot that opposition teams will be looking closely at. But other than that, this Indian team has what it takes, man to man, to win the World Cup.
