No matter where they meet, a cricket match between India and Pakistan brings parts of the globe to a standstill. It does not have to be a final but that is the treat in prospect this Sunday.
While the partisans may wish for a one-sided victory at the Oval, the rest of us pine for a match that will be the vivid reminder of the 2017 Champions Trophy in years to come. No such contest has taken place so far.
The format of this tournament is appealing. No time has been wasted and not one of the 14 games has been inconsequential. But there have been drawbacks. The calamities that have beset the capital have inevitable overshadowed games of cricket. For some the general election has been an unnecessary distraction and there has been too much rain around, especially when the Australians were playing.
Moreover, there has been a dearth of the tight finishes that get the heart pumping. Probably the closest game was the error-strewn yet captivating “quarter-final” between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Cardiff. Before that Sri Lanka’s successful run chase against India was highly unlikely but in the end it was achieved at a canter. The semi-finals were as lopsided as Geoffrey Boycott’s smile.
The tournament needs an epic final in stark contrast to when these two teams met at Edgbaston a fortnight ago in Group B. Then Pakistan were thrashed by India by 124 runs. According to the losers’ coach, Mickey Arthur, the magnitude of the occasion got to his team. The occasion at the Oval will be grander on Sunday.
However, Pakistan have improved a bit since then, which is just as well since India, apart from that loss to Sri Lanka, have been purring along. Their batsmen are in form; the bowlers are confident, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar threatening at the start and Jasprit Bumrah excellent at the end. And there’s always the highly unlikely Kedar Jadhav and his low slung off-breaks in the middle if the Ravis, Ashwin and Jadeja, have been blunted.
Pakistan have made two significant changes since that defeat at Edgbaston. At the top of the order Ahmed Shehzad has given way to Fakhar Zaman. In recent years the Pakistan side have been more venerable than many of the past and that still applies even after the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. But they are still prepared to play debutants in International Cricket Council tournaments.
Fakhar is one of three Pakistan players to make his debut in the last fortnight. But in keeping with the modern way he is 27 years of age. He has given a spark to the top order with scores of 31, 50 and 57 at a strike rate of 117.94, seemingly the type of player missing from the Pakistan lineup.
Oddly enough Fakhar does not always play with the abandon we have witnessed in the last fortnight. He said: “It’s not my natural style. I don’t play like this at the start usually. But I thought this is this best gameplan for this stage and I started playing aggressively. That’s the main reason our team was lagging. It’s not really my game but these wickets are very true compared to our domestic wickets. It became easier for me to play shots.”
Perhaps Fakhar should swap notes with some of his peers in the England camp about the nature of the pitches. If he can bat with the same freedom and success against India he may be around for a long time.
The other change was enforced but very beneficial. Before his ankle gave way in that match against India Wahab Riaz had conceded 87 runs from 8.4 overs. His replacement, Junaid Khan, has been excellent since being restored to the side, making a dangerous triumvirate – especially in Cardiff – alongside the equally impressive Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir, who is expected to be fit enough to take his place in the side after back spasms forced him to miss the semi-final against England.
That trio of pace bowlers are Sarfraz Ahmed’s best cards and whatever the weather he will, like India’s Virat Kohli, probably prefer to take to the field at 10.30 on Sunday morning. Sarfraz may lack the polish, athleticism and bank balance of his opposite number but he has handled his team impressively in this tournament as well as batting and keeping effectively.
Sarfraz already has one amazing victory as captain over India under his belt. In 2006 he led Pakistan Under-19s in their World Cup final against India in Colombo. India required just 111 for victory yet lost by 39 runs, a match that Imad Wasim might also remember rather more fondly than Rohit Sharma and Jadeja, who were playing for India. Somehow I think the relevant figures will be a little higher at the Oval this Sunday.
The expectation is that India will win but it would be a bonus for the standing of the tournament and the few neutrals attending if we were still unsure which side was going to prevail at the start of the 100th over of the match.
