And the score is 11-0!!

You must be thinking; this title belongs to football! But read it right, it indeed is for a cricket match. Through this, another question arises. Even for football, this is insane! Just wait. I’ll explain.

A Humbled Team
All the highs before the World T20 were humbled. India had just been defeated by New Zealand, by a huge margin of 47 runs, and that too while chasing a paltry score of 126. Sure, the pitch was doing things, but it wasn’t unplayable. This meant that the high profile encounter versus Pakistan was a do-or-die match.

A Positive Start
Pakistan, on the meanwhile, were riding high after demolishing Bangladesh by 55 runs in their first match, with ‘Boom Boom’ Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad all coming good with the bat. So this match-up was indeed very interesting, in which, for the first time, India were under more pressure than Pakistan. Don’t get me wrong, India – Pakistan encounters are never devoid of pressure and intensity, but this time Dhoni and Co. had their entire World T20 campaign. A hypothetical loss against Pakistan would virtually destroy their title hopes, and far worse, the flak faced back at home would be unbearable.

Frenemies
So the match was held at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with India’s Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Virender Sehwag and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan representing a symbol of peace by assembling onstage as friends. Many celebrities from the film fraternity were also present.

India, bowling first, bowled well and on a viciously turning Eden track, restricted Pakistan to a score of 118. Still I think India would have finished off the innings much quicker and to a lower total had they played an extra spinner, say Harbhajan Singh, instead of the extra pacer. Anyways, that didn’t happen.

A Win Notwithstanding Obstacles! 
Now came the run – chase. It was not a 230-odd target, but given the track, 118 was much like a 200. India were shaky to start off, losing Rohit Sharma very early. Then entered Virat Kohli. He is the hero of our story here, but he was dormant in the beginning. Perhaps he was preparing for the run chase ahead. Sami then struck with two wickets consecutively, dismissing Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina. Yuvraj Singh then came on strike. Here is where I think that India actually started to play the game. Searching for the quick single, the occasional double and the consequential boundary, India were chipping away at the score, much like a rat nibbling off a cake. Slowly but steadily, the required run-rate decreased, and finally came below run-a-ball when Virat hit a six and a four in the same over. Yuvraj Singh was caught going for the biggie, but he had supported well and had brought India to the doorstep of victory. Dhoni came when hardly ten runs were left and he hit the winning runs. When 7 runs were left to be taken, he hit one of his signature sixes over long-off, and levelled the scores. Just by nudging the ball towards the on-side, he finished off the match. Virat Kohli was very rightly adjudged Man of the Match for his march – winning 55 off just 37 balls.

Because of this win, two major positives came out for India: Firstly, they maintained their unblemished record of 11 wins in World Cup and World T20 matches, which means Pakistan haven’t been able to beat India in an ICC-organized, all-nation participating event since 1992, and believe me, that 1992 team was the one that won the World Cup.

So I hope India do win their next two matches against Bangldesh and Australia and qualify for the semis.

Till then, goodbye and follow the journey #CupTak!