To treat victory and defeat as mere imposters may come easy to Rudyard Kipling, but say that to an Indian or Pakistani fan during a match between the two countries, and you’ll find yourself fighting a lost cause. For reasons both political and sentimental, India-Pakistan matches have always been much more than ordinary encounters and they continue to remain so even to this day.
Despite most people refusing to admit that they would rather take a knockout stage loss than a defeat to their neighbours in a multination tournament, the fact remains that India-Pakistan rivalry continues to drive emotions the way few other iconic sports rivalries do.
Extra Cover: SK Flashback: Zaheer Khan rips through the Sri Lankan batting line-up in Margao
As the Adelaide crowd of 40,000 braced themselves for the fourth match of the 2015 ICC World Cup precisely two years ago to this day, little did they know that the ultimate difference between the two sides would come down to the brilliance of a man who, in time, would captain his nation in all three formats.
With MS Dhoni winning the toss for India and opting to bat first, expectations of a good score on what appeared to be a decent ODI track were high. Although India had not fared particularly well in Australia in the previous months, a World Cup was an entirely different proposition altogether. The Indians were expected to pull their socks up and maintain their undefeated streak against Pakistan in ICC tournaments.
For Pakistan, the psychological scars of the 2007 T20 World Championship final were still fresh. With a solid opening duo of Ahmed Shehzad and Younis Khan, and a fantastic fast bowling unit, this was Misbah-ul-Haq’s best opportunity in years to nullify the famed Indian batting line-up and seek vengeance.
Steady start by Sharma-Dhawan; Kohli strokes mature innings
As it turned out, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got off to a stable start before the former gifted away his wicket in a tame fashion in the 8th over. With Virat Kohli at the crease, India now began to gradually turn the tables with brisk running and opportunistic boundary hunting.
Dhawan, in particular, pleased the viewers with his restrained aggression. He focused on building momentum instead of going after each and every bowler. At the other end, Kohli embodied what was slowly becoming the mantra for teams at this tournament – keeping wickets in hand in order to go for the kill later on.
Such was his patience, that when he was dismissed for 107 runs – an innings that contained only 8 fours and no sixes – his strike-rate read an uncharacteristic 84.92.
Raina goes all guns blazing at the death
Dhawan missed his century succumbing to an avoidable run out on 73, but by then, his 129-run stand with Kohli had already steered India to a respectable position. The ground was now set for Suresh Raina, promoted up the order, to put on the accelerator for the team.
A few lusty blows against Yasir Shah fired his tally to 74 off 56 deliveries with India in sniffing distance of the 300-run mark.
A late comeback by Sohail Khan coupled with some magnificent death bowling by Wahab Riaz prevented further damage for Pakistan. Even then, the target of 301 looked more imposing than it was, since Pakistan had never successfully chased more than 262 and India had never lost a World Cup match after scoring 300 plus runs.
Shami strikes early; famed Pakistani batting collapse follows
Mohammed Shami provided the early hiccup by dismissing Younis Khan cheaply. In truth, Pakistan never quite looked convincing after that. Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Misbah-ul-Haq attempted to restore stability, but their efforts failed to bear any fruit. An excellent display of control from the Indian pacers further dented their hopes of chasing down the target.
The middle-order collapsed dramatically as Pakistan found themselves at 103/5 from 102/2 in the space of just 9 deliveries. Shahid Afridi’s run-a-ball 22 was the sole support that the skipper received from the other end.
Eventually, Misbah’s lone battle came to a halt in the 46th over when he surrendered to Ajinkya Rahane at midwicket.
With the skipper’s wicket, Pakistan’s resistance came to an end. Mohit Sharma completed the formalities in the next over, bringing a decisive end to Pakistan’s ordeals. Although it was the bowlers who kept their nerves and went on to secure the win, Virat Kohli was adjudged the man of the match for his calm century.
Extra Cover: SK Flashback: When MS Dhoni deposited Clint McKay into the stands to stun Australia
India, winning the match by 76 runs, continued to dominate over Pakistan in ICC tournaments. The head-to-head number now read 6-0 in World Cups and 9-0 in ICC tournaments in favour of India.
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