Yes, as we all had a sneaking suspicion that it would, the record now stands at 6-0. For the sixth time in a cricket World Cup, India has beaten us comprehensively. If this continues for a few more tournaments, our record against them may start looking worse than Brazil’s infamous score line at the FIFA semifinal versus Germany. Already, we are dangerously close.
But congratulations to the Indian team. Their batting lineup is undoubtedly superior to ours.
Yasir Shah may have not had a great game, but he could be our most effective strike bowler in the tournament, and will only improve from here. Umar Akmal may have missed a few chances behind the stumps, but Sarfraz Ahmed hasn’t been in form with the gloves of late. In fact, Sarfaraz hasn’t been batting well in the Australian continent either.
Umar Akmal’s dismissal was controversial. While the snickometer detected nothing, the third umpire adjudged him out, overturning the on field umpire’s decision based on marginal visual evidence. This certainly brought back memories from the World Cup encounter at Mohali, where Sachin Tendulkar was also saved by a controversial DRS decision.
The silver lining is Sohail Khan’s excellent five-wicket haul. His fellow seamers, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz, were both better than their returns suggested. Similarly, Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shehzad looked good while they lasted. As usual, Misbah-ul-Haq saved Pakistan from complete embarrassment, thanks to his typical rearguard action.
It was a similar pattern from previous games. The Indian bowlers were quite wayward early on and the Pakistani top order batsmen were too cautious to capitalise on some of the looser deliveries.
What’s more, both Shehzad and Sohail made the cardinal mistake of spending a long time at the crease without converting it to a substantial score. While Sohail was out to a good delivery, Shehzad gave it away under the pressure of dot balls. The Indian bowlers placed a stranglehold on the duo by denying them easy singles and Pakistan didn’t help the cause.
This brings us to Younis Khan.
Back when I was a young boy, this one time, we had a few family guests staying over. It meant that we were forced to transform our television room into a guest bedroom. The TV was moved out into the parents’ bedroom, where we faced discomfort as I tried to watch my favourite evening shows, while my father attempted to catch some shuteye. This discomfort only grew deeper when the guests overstayed their welcome by a few months.
