Watching the first cricket game in over 8 years. :$ Good luck #TeamIndia. #T20WC2014 #India #Srilanka #Cricket #Finals #T20 #sport (at Abdul Aziz Al Majid Building Al Nahda Sharjah)
The boys yet again proved to the world that T20 is THEIR cup of tea! Yesterday’s game was simply mesmerizing. From the toss to the last innings, not a single moment of the match let me down. If you do remember, a mere 19 days ago, Shahid Afridi scripted one of the most memorable wins over India during their Asia Cup 2014 encounter at the same venue. Team India till date though, has won each and every single T20 match against Pakistan!
After India won the toss, they elected to field first. The Indian spinners did a commendable job in restricting Pakistan to a modest 130 for seven after electing to bowl. It didn’t feel like the typical, old fashioned rivalry as Pakistan ended up putting out an average performance. Pakistan’s batting lineup didn’t look to threaten the Indian blowers at all. Amit Sharma put on an incredibly brilliant performance giving the Pakistan batsmen a run for their money.
Shikhar Dhawan (30) and Rohit Sharma (24) provided a better start to India followed by an extra ordinary partnership between Virat Kohli 36 (not out), Suresh Raina 35 (unbeaten). Saeed Ajmal was the only threat but the Indian batsmen were smart enough to avenge the other bowlers. Dhawan and Sharma’s hard hitting performance was no match for the Pakistani bowlers and so was the performance followed by Kohli and Raina.
Kohli hit four fours and a six during his 32-ball knock, while Raina`s runs came off 35 balls with an equal number of boundaries and six. Now, that’s what you call a strike! The shot of the match was Sharma’s long haul against Umar Gul’s over long-on for a six. The only disappointing moment for MSD was to see million dollar man Yuvraj Singh bowled out even before he could get started!
The top order of India seems to have got their form back and this morale boosting win against Pakistan will definitely see them provide good results ahead in the cup. For the first time in T20 history, after a bad spell, Team India are not being considered Challengers but the Dark Horses of the cup. But if they keep shelling out performances like this again, the critics will have to reconsider their evaluation!
