That’s about it from me; it was a match that, thanks to a brutal pitch for batting, didn’t quite deliver the spectacle that the occasion deserved – but Virat Kohli’s knock was good enough to win any game. He, like Joe Root yesterday, showed that class and composure win matches in this format, just like any other.
In the end, it was a decisive victory for India and MS Dhoni, who made the right call at the toss, and got more from his bowlers and fielders than Shahid Afridi, who may regret some of his decisions before and during the game – leaving out Imad Wasim, then putting himself in for an ineffective spell with the ball.
India now lead Pakistan 11-0 in limited overs tournament play, and have rescued their World T20 campaign. It’s Bangladesh next, before a monster of a match against Australia in Mohali. Pakistan also play Australia last; next for them, it’s unbeaten New Zealand. There’s a long way to go. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
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Tendulkar offers Kohli a thumbs-up as he leaves the pitch; we knew he could chase, but that was something else. 55 off 37, in a pressure cooker, on a surface that had made world-class batsmen look like utter clowns. He watched Mohammad Sami take two wickets in two balls from the other end, and with a little help from Yuvraj Singh, took the game away from Pakistan. “Probably one of my better knocks” he tells Nasser Hussain.
India beat Pakistan by six wickets!
The mood has switched to one of celebration, so Kohli and Dhoni decide not to hang around any longer. Irfan, looking defeated, fires a short, wide ball that Kohli cuts for four – and Dhoni delivers a big six. One run required, and the captain gets India over the line with 13 balls to spare!
15th over: India 106-4 (Kohli 50, Dhoni 5); India need 13 from 18 balls That last cover drive off Amir felt like Pakistan hitting Kohli with their best shot, and getting swatted away. And there’s another, shifting forward and driving wristily for the rope. A single brings up his fifty, Kohli raising a bat briefly to a baying crowd. Three overs left; 13 required.
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14th over: India 99-4 (Kohli 45, Dhoni 3); India need 20 from 24 balls Five fielders in the circle, and a slip in place, as Amir gets his chance to test Dhoni. Kohli looks unshakable, flicking a fierce leg-cutter away with zero fuss for a single, and telling his captain to calm down when he tries to run another. Amir hasn’t put a foot wrong in the over – but Kohli is too good, an imperious cover drive bringing up a sixth boundary.
13th over: India 91-4 (Kohli 39, Dhoni 1); India need 28 from 30 balls More magic from Dhoni, slotting a loose Afridi delivery through the covers for four. Afridi continues to leak runs as India nudge towards their target. Surely it’s time for Amir or Sami?
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WICKET! Yuvraj 24 c Sami b Wahab
...but Pakistan have a sniff again, as Yuvraj goes after more short stuff from Wahab, aiming for the stands beyond cow corner again – but he mistimes it, and it’s an easy catch for Sami. That’s a cheap wicket, but Dhoni is at the crease, with 35 needed from 36.
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12th over: India 84-3 (Kohli 33, Yuvraj 24) Oh my! The shot of the day from Yuvraj, driving home the shift in momentum with a huge six, swivelling on the spot to send Wahab over cow corner. Less than a run per ball required now...
11th over: India 74-3 (Kohli 31, Yuvraj 16); India need 45 from 42 balls Five overs have passed since Sami’s double dismissal, and Pakistan need to break up this partnership. Malik tries again, but offers up two wides – the extras keep piling up – before Kohli, ice cold in the cauldron today, steps forward and blasts over long leg. India’s first six – only the third we’ve seen all day. Malik goes quicker, fuller, but it’s no use – Kohli clubs it through the on side for four more. That’s too good, and the game is swinging India’s way.
10th over: India 60-3 (Kohli 20, Yuvraj 15); India need 59 from 48 balls Ack, sloppy fielding from Sharjeel, who races to cut off a Kohli drive from deep midwicket, only to slide beyond it and watch it come to rest on the boundary rope. Yuvraj is second in all-time World T20 sixes (just the 29 behind Chris Gayle), but it’s been dogged, run-a-ball stuff from him today. He’s beaten by a short ball from Wahab, then sits firmly back in his crease.
9th over: India 54-3 (Kohli 15, Yuvraj 14); India reach halfway – 18 overs each, remember – 12 runs ahead of Pakistan’s pace. Malik takes the ball, offering tricky spin that almost does for Yuvraj, who clips the ball high beyond Sarfraz. There’s no slip in place, though. A flurry of singles – plus a deft bit of running for two to close the over. This could be death by a thousand cuts for Pakistan.
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8th over: India 46-3 (Kohli 12, Yuvraj 9) Afridi again, but he’s not finding the turn that bewitched his batsmen, and Kohli and Yuvraj, slowly settling into a partnership, pick up a run a ball to keep the scoreboard moving.
7th over: India 40-3 (Kohli 10, Yuvraj 6) Virat Kohli’s knock so far has largely been spent at the opposite end, shaking his head – but he’s in now, up against the skidding menace of Sami. The first ball is too short, and Kohli steers it behind point – and he follows that with a classy cover drive, which makes the fence via a ricochet off the sliding Mohammad Amir. Some very useful runs from Kohli.
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Does anyone fancy calling this?
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6th over: India 28-3 (Kohli 3, Yuvraj 1) Afridi fancies a go at Yuvraj – perhaps a mistake, given his mastery of spin. It’s a tight over from the captain, yielding seven runs – although two of those are wides. Seven extras given up by Pakistan so far – 25% of India’s total.
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5th over: India 23-3 (Kohli 1, Yuvraj 0) It’s another fearsome delivery, but Yuvraj just about fends it off. Raw power from Sami to grab two huge wickets, and India are rocking.
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WICKET! Raina 0 b Sami
Perhaps bringing Sami in wasn’t such a terrible idea. He fires down a bouncer that Raina, fresh at the crease, clatters into his leg stump. Hat trick chance...
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WICKET! Dhawan b Sami 6
Well, that was unexpected. After a shaky start, Sami sends a short ball down, Dhawan tries to steer it away from deep in his crease, and he plays on!
5th over: India 23-1 (Dhawan 6, Kohli 1) Sami comes into the attack, Afridi sticking with pace with limited spin options. Dhawan threads the needle, finding a gap through three off-side fielders for a welcome four. Sami feeling it, and he serves up a no-ball, and gets a hard stare from the umpire for running down the track...
4th over: India 18-1 (Dhawan 2, Kohli 1) A slip and a gully in place, as Afridi seeks wickets to make life easier. Irfan needs to tighten up in his second over, and he cramps Dhawan for room repeatedly. The opener is stuck on 1 from 10 deliveries, before a lash through the leg side earns him a single. India’s early momentum has stalled somewhat.
3rd over: India 16-1 (Dhawan 1, Kohli 0) The ball again gripped the pitch from an Amir delivery, and Rohit sent it miles in the air. Malik finished the job. Virat Kohli is next in – at the risk of stating the obvious, the longer he stays in, the better India’s chances. It’s an exceptional over from Amir, finding his length and line to chalk up a wicket maiden.
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WICKET! Sharma c Malik b Amir 10
61,377 fans inside Eden Gardens today – and you can hear a pin drop as Malik elbows his team-mates aside to haul in a catch at cover! That’s a vital early breakthrough for Pakistan.
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2nd over: India 14-0 (Sharma 10, Dhawan 1) Irfan’s first ball is short and wide, and Rohit watches it all the way, cutting it expertly away for four. Irfan rattles the batsmen with a fierce bouncer, but his next is a perfect length for Rohit, who helps it on its way with a pull to the square leg boundary. That’s an expensive over, ten runs from it.
1st over: India 4-0 (Sharma 1, Dhawan 1) After a very brief interval, the chase begins – and Amir beats Sharma outside off stump with the first ball! An encouraging start, but a wide and a leg bye follow – Pakistan will need to watch those – but a tidy bit of fielding from Wahab, cutting off a Dhawan clip behind square. A perfectly acceptable start for Pakistan.
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It’s certainly advantage India after an excellent display with the ball and in the field, on a wildly turning pitch that gave nothing to the batsmen. Pakistan rallied, picking up 51 runs in the final five overs to give themselves a fighting chance. Chasing a modest target, on a pitch tailored for spin – haven’t India been here before?
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Pakistan set India a target of 119 to win
18th over: Pakistan 118-5 (Sarfraz 8, Hafeez 5) With Pakistan trying to scrap their way to 120, Dhoni calls on Bumrah, rather than Ashwin, to close this out. Interesting choice – but Bumrah delivers, offering a mix of gripping slower balls and full-blooded yorkers. Pakistan nurdle seven runs, but no boundaries, in an ugly bunfight of an over.
17th over: Pakistan 111-5 (Sarfraz 7, Hafeez 1) Here comes Mohammad Hafeez, whose off-spin would be of use to Pakistan today, were he not banned. Sarfraz gets a first boundary, shuffling his feet and pulling through the on side for four. Nehra finishes with an outrageous bouncer, which probably should have been called wide.
WICKET! Malik c Ashwin b Nehra 26
Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik is caught by Ashwin. Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP
That certainly won’t help – Nehra, who has bowled smartly throughout, dismisses Malik, who edges a gripping, angled ball high into the night air, and Ashwin mops up at short fine leg.
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16th over: Pakistan 103-4 (Malik 24, Sarfraz 2) Sarfraz introduces himself with a cheeky chip over Jadeja’s head, and Pakistan are into double figures. A big two overs coming up – what can they put on the board for India to chase?
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WICKET! Akmal c Dhoni b Jadeja 22
Back to spin with Jadeja, but he’s nailed by Malik, who gets set and slog sweeps him for four... but he does get the breakthrough, ending Akmal’s cameo as the batsman misjudges a cut, and edges through to Dhoni!
15th over: Pakistan 95-3 (Akmal 21, Malik 19) No ball called against Bumrah, perhaps harshly, before serving up two full tosses that Malik punishes, a cover drive and a pull beyond square leg for two boundaries. Another costly over – Bumrah is 1-27 in his three so far – as India’s bowlers take their foot off the gas.
14th over: Pakistan 82-3 (Akmal 19, Malik 9) Just five overs remaining, including this one. Pakistan need to get a move on. After a tennis ball bouncer from Pandya, Malik crashes a six wide of mid on, and all the way to the stands! A first maximum for Pakistan – and here’s a second, with Akmal reading the slower ball and slapping a flatter shot over long-on.
13th over: Pakistan 67-3 (Akmal 11, Malik 0) Shoaib Malik will need to bring all his aggression and experience to the crease, if Pakistan are to post a respectable total. India continue to excel in the field, Rohit diving to somehow stop an Akmal cover drive. Plenty of slow, wide stuff from Nehra that has Malik irritated, and it’s a measly two from the over.
12th over: Pakistan 65-3 (Akmal 11, Malik 0) After Akmal offers a rare spot of resistance with a defiant heave to cow corner, Pandya gets the ball to gripp the surface and causes Boom Boom to bust, mistiming and holing out straight to Kolhi at long on. The crowd goes wild.
There’s a silver lining at the end of the over, Jadeja hitting the stumps with a run-out attempt, but failing to move the bails. The ball trundles all the way to the rope, for a total of five cheap runs.
WICKET! Afridi c Kohli b Pandya 8
That’s a big wicket, and Afridi, who never settled, has gone!
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11th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Afridi 8, Akmal 1) I’m with Naylor; this pitch is spoiling the spectacle. Yesterday’s match barely feels like it came from the same planet, let alone the same tournament, and even an eye as sharp as Afridi’s can’t get a read. Three pushed singles just about keeps the scoreboard moving.
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10th over: Pakistan 51-2 (Afridi 5, Akmal 0) Afridi wants to get after everything, and hooks a short ball clumsily to the fine leg boundary for four. Bumrah slows the pace, and Afridi buys it, swinging at thin air as the ball trundles a centimetre over the stumps. Runs on the board there, but another wicket down.
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WICKET! Shehzad c Jadeja b Bumrah 25
9th over: Pakistan 42-1 (Shehzad 21, Afridi 1) Shehzad, who has adapted to a bizarre wicket in commendable fashion, sends Bumrah to the boundary over short fine leg... and I’ve spoken too soon, as he top-edges to Jadeja, back-pedalling to take another excellent catch.
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8th over: Pakistan 39-1 (Shehzad 19, Afridi 0) The captain is out at the crease, taking it upon himself to fire up this Pakistan innings. It’s a risk, and he plays and misses at two Jadeja balls that turn wildly. The batsmen are haring after every run, but India’s fielding is whip-smart. Four runs from the over.
“Pakistan have surely lost this match purely on team selection. Can’t see quicks winning this match” says Sohid Ahmed. It looks a horrible call already, on an absolute Bunsen of a pitch.
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WICKET! Sharjeel c Pandya b Raina 17
Shehzad starts the over with a flay towards long off that drops short of the fielder. His partner doesn’t learn from that let-off, swinging for the boundary and only finding Pandya, racing in from the rope and taking a flying catch! He’s left dazed, and has to go off for a moment, but there’s the breakthrough India wanted.
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7th over: Pakistan 34-0 (Sharjeel 16, Shehzad 16) Ravindra Jadeja appeals for a catch, as the ball clocks Sharjeel on his thigh and loops in the air. It was nowhere near the bat, though – it’s actually difficult for the spinners to control their deliveries on this wicket, which looks to be made of corrugated rubber.
Shehzad nicks a fortunate four past the slip amid a hail of unplayable balls, before a big lbw shout as Jadeja finds his pads. It was surely juddering past his leg stump, though.
6th over: Pakistan 28-0 (Sharjeel 15, Shehzad 12) Another over for Ashwin, as Dhoni goes hunting for a wicket. The batsmen are on the back foot, grubbing four singles but staying largely untroubled, save for one that turns about a foot away from Sharjeel’s bat. It turned too well, if anything, Clive.
5th over: Pakistan 24-0 (Sharjeel 13, Shehzad 10) Bumrah, the ever living, is up for the final powerplay over. Sharjeel’s timing is still way off – it looks like he’s wielding a petrol station plastic bat. Bumrah keeps his length short, and Sharjeel plays and misses – but he picks up a welcome boundary with a well-timed cover drive.
4th over: Pakistan 19-0 (Sharjeel 9, Shehzad 9) Sharjeel looking decidely edgy against Ashwin, and gets a leading edge that drops short of point. Shehzad finds a gap with a tidy drive for four, before Ashwin’s last delivery spits wildly off the wicket. Pakistan are hanging in there, for now.
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3rd over: Pakistan 12-0 (Sharjeel 8, Shehzad 3) Pakistan will need to go after the quicks with this pitch, and Ashwin bristling with menace. Will Afridi regret favouring pace in his selection? We’ll see. Shehzad finally gets a clean shot away, but it’s well fielded at square leg. Sharjeel bags Pakistan’s first boundary with a settler lofted high through the on side.
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2nd over: Pakistan 5-0 (Sharjeel 3, Shehzad 1) Dhoni calls for the spin wizardry of Ashwin early, and his second ball is a beauty that turns sharply. Sharjeel plays and misses, but keeps in his crease as Dhoni clears the bails. Plenty of grip and turn in this pitch from the get go, and Ashwin just misses Shehzad’s off stump to end the over.
1st over: Pakistan 3-0 (Sharjeel 2, Shehzad 1) Ashish Nehra bowling to Sharjeel, left arm to left hand, and the first ball is bunted to square leg for a single. That sets the pattern for the first over, with both batsmen nervily playing square. A slower ball loops off Shehzad’s bat, but drops short, forcing a rueful grin from Nehra.
Reminder: this is an 18 overs per side match, which means the powerplay will last from now until the end of the 5th over. Got it? Good.
It's on
The anthems are sung with gusto, in at atmosphere that’s rising from raucous to feverish. We’re ready to play.
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The teams
Pakistan have left out their all-rounder and spinner Imad Wasim, and bring in Mohammad Sami. It’s pace all the way for them. India, as expected, are unchanged.
India: RG Sharma, S Dhawan, V Kohli, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Yuvraj Singh, HH Pandya, RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, JJ Bumrah, A Nehra
Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shahid Afridi (c), Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan
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Coin toss
Afridi calls heads, but it’s tails – India win the toss, and will bowl first. The India captain says Pakistan’s pace is their strength, and will be “a challenge” – but he has confidence in his top order. He’s his usual ice-cool self, in contrast with Shahid Afridi, a bundle of nervous energy.
The Pakistan captain says bowling first is the right call, but they batted first successfully against Bangladesh. “Cricket is like a religion in India, we’re all excited to play this game,” he adds, and I believe him.
So, twenty minutes spent on speeches and a presentation, and four overs trimmed from the match. Makes sense. Anyway, the wicket is dry, the outfield is passable, and actual cricket is imminent!
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The match will start in thirty minutes!
The toss will be in ten minutes, and the match will start at 3pm GMT, 8.30pm GMT – and it’ll be 18 overs per side. An E18, if you will.
That appears to have been a poor decision, Paul.
Here’s some music.
Imran Khan gave a short speech, and couldn’t resist bringing this up.
Sachin Tendulkar is at the back of the queue, and that low rumble you can hear, wherever you are, is the Kolkata crowd greeting the Little Master.
A plinth has appeared on the outfield, with assorted cricketing greats, including Imran Khan, Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Akram, lining up to accept baubles. This is all very nice, but isn’t there supposed to be a game on?
Here’s a bit of reaction from Eoin Morgan to England’s scintillating run chase yesterday. Basically, he liked it.
The toss has been pushed back with the covers still being peeled away, but India’s players are out, enjoying a light workout. MS Dhoni has spoken on camera, suggesting he will stick with the same team, and hopeful that recent Asia Cup success will help their confidence. “It’s a big game”, the captain adds, perhaps underselling it slightly.
Lovely scenes update: both teams trained at Eden Gardens yesterday, with Virat Kohli taking time to shake hands with Shahid Afridi – and present a bat to Mohammad Amir, back on the international scene after a lengthy spot-fixing suspension. All very cordial.
Match delayed
Covers still being removed, but the outfield is a touch slippery, so there won’t be any play until 8pm local time – 2.30pm GMT. That might mean the amount of overs are clipped, or the interval is cut back to ten minutes.
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“The hero of that 2007 T20 encounter you wrote about, Joginder Sharma, was in the news last week when footage of him doing the police drills came to the attention of the internet” says Ravi Raman. “His cricketing career didn’t take off and instead he became a police officer in Haryana and is now a Deputy Commissioner. A different kind of fairytale ending!”
True story. Ideas for future careers for our modern-day T20 heroes are, of course, welcome.
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Pakistan have won the women’s match, which has just finished in Delhi, thanks to our old friends Duckworth and Lewis. India made 96/7, but Pakistan, who missed all their warm-up games due to security concerns, made 77/6 before rain stopped play to win by two runs. England still have both teams on their Group B fixture list.
The covers are coming off at a packed Eden Gardens. It’s likely to be a slow surface that favours the batsmen, particularly early on – but dew in the outfield could play a part later in the evening. So a tough toss to call, and quite possibly a nerve-shreddingly close encounter, whichever way the coin lands.
India have played Pakistan ten times in international, limited-overs tournaments, and have never lost. Few meetings were as memorable as the two that took place in the 2007 World Twenty20, the first tournament and a watershed moment for the format on the subcontinent; both of which ended in glorious failure for Pakistan and Misbah-ul-Haq, as John Ashdown explains:
Twice in the inaugural World Twenty20, Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq came within a whisker of pulling off the most unlikely of rescues against India. Twice he failed at the last – akin to Superman letting Lois Lane slip through his fingers from a great height, or John McClane getting to Hans Gruber’s detonators too late. In the group stage, Pakistan had been 47 for four, chasing India’s 141, when Misbah strolled out to the crease – 11 overs later, he smeared Sreesanth for runs that took him to 53 from 34 balls and Pakistan to 141. Two balls remained. One run was all that was required. He failed to make contact with the next delivery, was run out off the last, and India won the bowl-out.
Ten days later, the two teams met again in the final at the Wanderers. India rattled up 157; Pakistan limped to 64 for four midway through the ninth over. Again Misbah donned his cape. Around him, his team-mates crumbled under the pressure. By the end of the 16th over, Pakistan were seven down and needed 54 from 24 balls. Three clubbing Misbah sixes from one Harbhajan Singh over gave them hope.
It came to the final over. Nine down, 13 required. Joginder Sharma to bowl. He began with a wide – 12 needed – then went wide again, this time beating Misbah’s swipe. Next up was a full toss clubbed gleefully back over the bowler’s head for six, taking Misbah to 43 from 37 balls – and leaving Pakistan needing just six more from four balls. The rescue was almost complete. But from the next, Misbah shuffled outside off and attempted a pre-meditated ramp. It was a slower ball. The scoop floated up to Sreesanth, two-thirds of the way to the boundary at fine leg, and the catch was taken. Misbah had failed at the very last, and India were champions.
Taken from John’s excellent Joy of Six on, er, eight great WorldTwenty20 innings.
The bad news is that it’s raining at Eden Gardens. The good news? The forecast is good for the evening, with the game still on schedule to start in just under an hour.
Preamble
Never mind Newcastle, Manchester or the Stade de France; on a bumper weekend of sporting derbies, there can be only one main event, and it takes place in Kolkata.
India v Pakistan on any cricket pitch, anywhere in the world, is as big an occasion as any on Planet Earth. Passion, previous, mutual enmity and high stakes are always present in abundance – but this meeting could be particularly momentous.
India are the hosts and favourites, and the format’s No1 ranked team, with Pakistan only sixth. MS Dhoni’s team would have been looking forward to this occasion as much as is possible, but a shock skittling by New Zealand has set nerves on edge.
Pakistan, who prepared for the tournament in their trademark chaotic style, further upped the ante with an impressive blast past Bangladesh. India effectively going out of their home tournament after two games is unthinkable – but going out to Pakistan?
With New Zealand on two wins already, and Australia ahead, there surely isn’t room for both sides in the semi-finals. This could prove to be an eliminator as much for Pakistan as for India; the opportunity is there for either side to inflict historic hurt on their arch-rivals.
In the cauldron of Eden Gardens, all we can say for sure is there will be a winner, and defeat will be a brutal kick in the teeth to millions. This is why we watch; sit back and enjoy.
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