A little Suryakumar Yadav touch – or a easy-peasy pouched catch in the deep – and India had ended Zimbabwe’s hopes, as Sikandar Raza was sent back on 34 off 24 mistiming the pull. Speaking at the presentation later, a easy grinning Surya would grin the assured grin, explaining how his exceptional tally of 1000 runs this season at a strike-rate of over 180 had come, with him doing nothing different than what he did at the nets. Surya would thank the crowd for turning up even after India had qualified for the knockouts. He would offer an insight into his composed state of being saying he always focussed on “starting on 0 each time”, while captain Rohit Sharma would second that with his observation of how SKY was batting exactly the way he wanted to, and helping ease pressure on his batting partner. “With the way things are going, I love it,” the smile would carry on.
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The irresistible pull
Rohit Sharma could not resist it. The ball was short and sweet, with not much steep bounce or pace. Sharma uncorked the pull, one of his favourite strokes. The ball blazed off his bat. The crack of the bat on the ball will have you believe that the ball would soar into the stands. Except that it does not. It flies and then floats into the hands of the deep square-leg fielder, perfectly positioned under the ball. Sharma gasps in disbelief. He then stares at the bat suspiciously. Taps the sweet spot to check if the spot was firm. Blame not the bat, but the miscalculation. The square fences of MCG are longer than most grounds. And more often than not, an aerial pull with fielders in the deep, is risk prone. It’s not a coincidence that twice in four innings has the pull, the favourite of his strokes, undone him in the tournament.
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– Sandip G
A strength becomes a weakness for Rohit
Horizontal bat shots are getting Rohit Sharma into trouble, not a good sign going into the semifinals. With pace and bounce on offer on the pitches during this World Cup, Rohit who pulls well should have had more success. Last Sunday, he was cramped for room when trying to pull South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi. The ball ballooned up and Ngidi completed an easy catch. Zimbabwe’s Blessing Murazabani got him to pull one this Sunday and Rohit’s fate was sealed. He struck the ball alright but didn’t roll his wrists.
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Moreover, if he hadn’t timed it well enough to clear the vast square boundary. Wellington Masakadza took an easy catch in the deep. Against Bangladesh the other day, Sharma’s attempt to upper cut ended in the hands of the backward point fielder. Scores of 2, 15 and 15 won’t give the Indian captain a confidence boost going into the semifinals. His strength has become a weakness in this World Cup. And in the fast-paced T20 format, Rohit can’t even afford to let the short balls go.
Misfired delivery hits bullseye
Sean Williams could not believe it. The left-arm spinner had just flung in a short of length ball, the seamer’s hard-length, his original intention might have been a flat, full ball on off-stump. But the ball just slipped out of his hand. Kohli, too, assumed that it was a full ball and had committed to his front-foot to drill the ball straight down the ground. The length meant that he had to change the shot, and he decided to slap the ball. The ball reached him a fraction faster than he had anticipated and he ended up slicing it in the air. Williams was so struck with disbelief that he frowned and wrapped his face with his palms. He might not have intended to bowl this ball, but as it turned out, it gifted him with the most precious wicket of all in the tournament.
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– Sandip G
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Hardik Pandya the chatter-box, like Javed Miandad
There’s a bit of Javed Miandad in Hardik Pandya. As far as batting goes, they are contrastingly different. Miandad was a master of manipulating the ball in the gaps, Pandya makes the fielders irrelevant since he mostly hits shots that sail over them. It is between the overs, or after every ball bowled, that Pandya and Miandad seem like twins separated by several generations. Whatever the situation, whoever be the non-striker, there is always something Pandya has to say. On most occasions, when the all-rounder is on the crease, all mid-pitch conferences are about the Pandya monologue. Miandad was the same. The funniest sight is after Pandya has hit a stunning shot.
As is the tradition, the non-striker would walk across for the celebratory punch but that would be the last thing on Pandya’s mind. The better the stroke the more his lips move. He is in a zone, he is animated, he is in a frenzy. As the Indians of the 80s would say, if you want to make Miandad restless just don’t strike up a conversation with him.
– Sandeep Dwivedi
Pant or Karthik, not an easy call
The long wait on the bench finally ended for Rishabh Pant. His time in the middle lasted all of four balls. With the designated finisher Dinesh Karthik not really setting the T20 World Cup on fire, Pant made it to the playing XI against Zimbabwe. India were going at seven-and-a-half runs an over by the end of the 13th over but with the in-form Suryakumar Yadav at the other end, Pant found himself in an ideal situation. A push, a couple of chips and Pant seemed to be ready to take his time. But he couldn’t hold back for long. Pant went for the slog sweep to left-arm spinner Sean Williams and the shot was on. But he didn’t account for the brilliance of Ryan Burl. Burl ran to his left and timed his dive perfectly to pull off a wonderful catch. Experts have been calling for Pant to be included in the Playing XI. At the toss skipper Rohit Sharma had said they wanted to give Pant a chance as he had not played a game on tour, including the warm-up games. The team management wanted to try out Pant before the semifinals. So will they persist with Pant or will Karthik make a comeback for the last-four game? Tough call, given that Pant didn’t do anything wrong or right, in his short time in the middle.
– Nihal Koshie
First 6 in 65 innings; gone next ball
Sean Williams took his eyes off Mohammad Shami’s short ball. But he had committed to the hook, and hook he did the ball for a six. His eyes were slunk down, but he got under the ball and went through with the stroke, full bloodied and not tentatively. He, though, was uncertain whether he had timed the ball well enough. So after his follow through, the left-hander immediately looked back, perhaps presuming that he had top-edged the ball. Then saw the fielder at backward square leg throw the ball back at the fielder, and the umpire signalling a six. This was Williams’ first ever six in 65 T20Is. But the joy of the first was short-lived, as he perished next ball.
– Sandip G
