Champions Trophy: This defeat shows why Pakistan are No. 8 in the world

Pakistan’s defeat to India in the Champions Trophy opener showed just why they are the number eight ranked side in world cricket. India dominated their opponents in all three departments – be it batting, bowling or fielding – and the running between the wickets, in my opinion, proved out to be the difference between the sides.

It is a fabled perception that Pakistan have a strong bowling attack. This match, along with several of their encounters against India in the recent past proved how that is just a perception and nothing else.

The way Indian batsmen dealt with the Pakistani pace attack was exceptional, and they took the bowlers to the cleaners in a match where it mattered the most. Dropping Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh didn’t help the Pakistani cause either, as both of them went on to score big towards the death overs.

When things went wrong for Pakistan

Things started going downhill right from the beginning of the India innings when Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan built a solid 150-run opening stand and batted Pakistan out of the game. Rohit played exceptionally well for his knock of 91 and was ably supported by Dhawan.

The injuries to Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir didn’t augur well for Pakistan. No team would do well with losing two of their premier fast bowlers in one over in the middle of an innings.

ODIs these days can be very calculative. In a game of 50 overs, if you miscalculate your bowling strategy for a couple of overs, it could end costing you dearly in the end. That’s precisely what happened to Pakistan today.

After losing Amir and Riaz, they had to turn to Imad Wasim for the last over, who was hit for three sixes by Hardik Pandya. That shot up the target beyond the 300-run mark. Had it been Amir or Riaz, there could have been a difference of 15-20 runs.

It didn’t just bat Pakistan out of the game, but it also hit their morale hard in the first half of the game.

Promotion of Pandya – a brave move

That ball wasn’t swinging much, as it is normally expected in England, although the seam movement, especially the movement off an angle after pitching was there. In these conditions, the Indian openers played exceptionally well by taking their time and playing out the first ten overs without losing wickets.

Initially, it was the partnership of Dhawan and Rohit, and later it was Virat Kohli who took the mantle of ticking the scoreboard and accelerating whenever there was an opportunity.

Not losing wickets in the early part of the innings gave India the cushion of having wickets in hand during the final overs. Even after the innings concluded, India still had MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav in the dugout.

Hence, the key to this big a total for India was the solid opening stand between Rohit and Dhawan that laid the foundation for the middle order to fire towards the death. Also, the promotion of Hardik Pandya ahead of Dhoni was a bit surprising, but the move paid out well in the end.

MS Dhoni, at this stage of his career, would obviously look to find young cricketers who could finish off innings, especially in a pressure game such as this one and it is here that Pandya’s promotion was commendable.

This was also done to keep the future prospects in mind, with the thinking that if the need arises, who are the players to go to whenever there is a need to finish the innings. The way Dhoni has held on to that spot for several years invites praise and astonishment.

However, he would also be on the lookout for the batsman to fill-in the place after he takes leave, and it is here that these experiments with players like Pandya would come in handy.

While it will be too early to say whether Pandya fits that spot – three balls are too short a sample space – but the talent that the young man has to hit a long ball is certainly unquestionable.

Rohit and Jadeja – standout performers

The most impactful player, for me, was Rohit Sharma. That was not just because he laid the platform for India and the middle order to build upon, but also because he didn’t let the rain breaks affect his tempo.

These rain interruptions can be tricky. Coming on and going off can be difficult to cope with. Your body gets relaxed during the breaks and you need to get it warmed up every time. Considering these conditions and situations, Rohit played an exceptional knock.

He might have consumed more balls than he ideally should have, but that was the need of the hour. It was essential to stay at the crease for long periods of time and play the role of a sheet anchor.

Amongst the bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja was the standout performer. He picked up wickets and effected a crucial run-out of Shoaib Malik. If you observe, Malik and Mohammad Hafeez were the two most experienced batsmen of this Pakistani line-up and Jadeja played a hand in dismissing both of them.

Also, Azhar Ali, who made a fifty in the game was also sent back by the 28-year-old. All in all, it was a comprehensive victory for India and it proved just why they are the defending champions and are one of the contenders for winning the Champions Trophy.

RP Singh has played Test and limited overs cricket for India and won the World T20 in 2007.