The Indian team today romped to a victory against the Pakistanis at Edgbaston. With the –run victory, India is up and running in the Champions Trophy. Here is where India won the game compared to Pakistan:
Excellent use of the pitch and conditions
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan showed the maturity and know-how to tackle the tricky Edgbaston conditions. At no point did they look uncomfortable though they were aided by some lackadaisical Pakistani fielding. The opening pair were able to capitalize on the loose balls and put on a masterful display till Dhawan holed out. Virat Kohli too played an excellent supporting role for Yuvraj and Rohit while taking his time to get going. He provided the fireworks at the end with Hardik Pandya.
Batting sensibly
Something we’ve gotten accustomed to when referring to Pakistan’s batting is their inability to bat sensibly. Once again, in a chase that required urgency, they were building pressure on themselves. Ultimately, their inability to milk the singles and their tendency to play needless shots caused their downfall. The Indian batsmen however managed to get those crucial 1’s and 2’s to keep the scoreboard ticking and hit the bad balls really well.
Poor fielding by both sides
The Pakistanis will have to seriously up their standards in their field. Despite India’s sub-par performance in the field, they still managed to apply the pressure on their opponents. India dropped sitters and still managed to look the better side in the fielding department today. Ravindra Jadeja was excellent at point and that slinging arm of his wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batsmen. India will however need to work on their fielding when they play South Africa.
Better genuine all-rounders
India’s all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya did their jobs really well. Pandya breathed fresh fire into the end of the Indian innings with three consecutive sixes in an over that was followed by a flourish by Virat Kohli. Jadeja hit the wickets with some excellent fielding and then bowled tightly and picked a couple of wickets. India just had the edge when it came to all-rounders and are on the cusp of a very special looking team.
Adjusting to the rain
Each time there was a break due to the rain, India managed to re-compose themselves and come back stronger. Pakistan were just not able to build any sort of momentum and barring Azhar Ali, none of the batsmen looked very comfortable in the middle. India were just the better team in all departments and deserve the points they are taking home.
