History!

By: K. Gautam

So, India and Pakistan managed to create a further piece of history by playing out the first ‘bowl out’ ever in 20/20 cricket. They managed to create further flutters in the already feeble hearts of their fans. Though I am happy India just managed to avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - yet again, I really pity the Pakistan team and its fans for coming so close, yet so far. I think a tie would have been a fairer result, as neither team deserved to lose, especially Pakistan who fought back well through Misbah-ul-Haq, who didn’t deserve to be on the losing side after a fighting 54 of 35 balls. Neither did Mohammed Asif, who bowled one of the best spells (4/18) in a 20/20 game. The top Indian batsmen, with the ball swinging around, found him too hot to handle.

Robin Uthappa showed the value of youth in the side by playing a gutsy 50 of 39 balls, along with able support from skipper Dhoni. This helped India reach a fighting 141/9, a distant dream after being 4/36 in the 6.4 overs. Newcomer Sohail Tanvir with his strange left arm action bamboozled the Indian batsmen with a high quality spell of 1/18 overs of his 4 overs. He is someone Pakistan would do well to encourage.

The Indian bowlers maintained pressure throughout the Pakistani run chase, with RP Singh and Sreesanth exploiting the pitch, which had lost none of its zip in the second innings. The normally wayward Agarkar managed to pin the Pakistanis batsmen by bowling a tight line in his first three overs, until Misbah-ul-Haq punished him for his poor death bowling in the 19th over.

Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh continued the good work by hardly giving the batsmen any room to hit. It was a good comeback for Harbhajan, who bowled clinical full-pitched deliveries. It was a dream comeback for Irfan. He bowled a gem of an opening maiden wicket over, where he removed the dangerous Younis Khan. The over also included the run-out of Kamran Akmal.

Pakistan definitely lost the plot by delaying the entry of Afridi, with too much required. A brisk knock by him two down or even three down would have prevented Pakistan from gasping for breath with 49 required of the last 4 overs.

Though the ‘bowl out’ might not necessarily be the best method to break the deadlock between teams just as penalties are not in soccer, it would be pure fun to watch it. Fun was exactly what the chosen ones for the ‘bowl out’ from India were having. Dhoni and the other Indian think-tank certainly used a lot of common sense in choosing 3 slow bowlers (Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan being the other 2) who are more likely to hit the stumps rather than the fast bowlers who could be wayward. The exact opposite was happening in the Pakistan camp. They looked tense, resulting in the Pakistan bowlers Yasar Arafat, Umar Gul, and Afridi coming not even close to hitting the stumps. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Robin Uthappa were spot on.

The Super 8 matches are definitely going to be a lot tougher, with India having to face better fielding sides like Sri Lanka. They would definitely have to play a higher level of cricket to win matches.