Pakistan vs India, 2007, 4th ODI - Report and Highlights

15 Nov

Posted by Nanda under India, Pakistan

A one man show can only be done by a legend such as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar who was at his deadliest best in yesterday’s day-night match. His performance won the series for India and despite missing out on YET another century, the end result would have been far more satisfying. India finally managed to beat Pakistan in a home ODI series. With another game to go, India can well afford to rest some seniors and get their younger generation a chance to display their skills.

For most part of his 18 year career Sachin has been regarded as the best batsman in the world, ever. Yesterday he showed that age is no bar when it comes to playing at the big stage. For the most capped player in ODI history, Sachin also defies critics on a regular basis. Most of 2007 has been spent in speculation on whether the time has come for the Big 3 to retire. I don’t know about the other two, but this man should be left alone. Yet again he has silenced his critics as he let the bat do all the talking. And his bat did not just talk, it screamed.

Winning the toss, Shoaib Malik decided to bat first knowing fully well that the dew would play an important factor in the second innings. RP Singh gave his team the perfect start by getting rid of Salman Butt for a duck and Pakistan never recovered from the 2nd ball of the innings. The powerplays were wasted as only 79 runs were scored in the first 20 for the loss of 2 wickets. RP, Pathan and Zaheer were bang on target and barring the odd boundary kept things nice and tight.

Had it not been for a superb 99 from Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan would have found it hard to make it past 200. Although, dangerman Shahid Afridi may have been a touch unfortunate when he was adjudged LBW after playing across a Ganguly delivery to give the Prince of Kolkatta his 100th ODI wicket. Pakistan never looked like a team desperate to win this match. Regardless, all credit must be given to the Indian bowlers who bowled admirably to keep the final score to less than 275. Pakistan managed to cross the 250 figure in the final over to reach 255 for the loss of 6 wickets.

With 256 runs required on a wicket that was going to be batsman friendly, the Indians had to ensure that they did not lose early wickets. Saurav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir did just the opposite. Ganguly edged Akhtar to second slip and Gambhir pulled Rao to square leg. Sachin on the other hand was quickly into his rhythm and when he gets into a mood like this there is no respite for the fielding team. The boundaries came at blistering pace and every single shot was a sight to watch. Middling the ball perfectly, the Little Master ripped the Pakistani bowling to pieces.

Joining him was Virender Sehwag, a man looking for redemption. Sehwag started slowly but once he got his timing correct he started smashing the bowlers. Only one man in cricket can match Sachin and that person is Sehwag. The two quickly put on a century partnership and had it not been for some stupid running between the wickets, Sehwag should have reached a 50, one that he deserved to get this time. Still, the signs were clear, he was back in form.

Sehwag’s departure saw Tendulkar in his 90’s. The dreaded 90’s. The way he was batting Sachin deserved a 130-140 score, however as destiny would have it, he inside-edged Umar Gul to his leg stump to depart at 97 leaving the crowd stunned and silent. The damage, however, had been done. The platform had been laid for ODI cricket’s best finishing pair and a finish they did provide. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are now considered the best batting pair in ODI cricket as the two have now been part of all Indian wins in this series.

With one more match to go, I would like to see Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma be given an opportunity to play and RP Singh, Tendulkar and Ganguly be rested. Get Sehwag and Gambhir to open the innings, with Uthappa coming in at one down. Yuvraj, Dhoni and Rohit Sharma form the middle order. Harbhajan and Murali Kartik to be the spin duo and Sreesanth, Pathan and Zaheer Khan to spearhead the pace at
tack. With a grueling tour of Australia just round the corner, India needs to see their bench strength.

Pakistan, on the other hand, need to get back to the drawing board. They have lacked strategy and discipline throughout this series. The youngsters have failed to impress, barring Salman Butt (but he scores against India more often than not). A lot of questions and no answers. That is the situation for Pakistan at the moment. For India, on the other hand, Diwali still continues on.

Click here for the full scorecard

Pakistan Batting - Full Highlights

Indian Batting - Full Highlights

Presentation Ceremony

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