India need to be at their very best
After losing to Sri Lanka on Friday, Virat Kohli’s men set up a pulsating must win match against Pakistan on Sunday.
Driven into a corner after their defeat to Sri Lanka, India will look to regroup quickly and plug their loopholes as they go into the make or break match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup here on Sunday.
With back- to- back victories over Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka have virtually assured themselves of a berth in the final of the Asia Cup, and now it’s a two-way battle between the traditional rivals to be the other finalists in the five-nation tournament.
Both teams go into the match on an even keel, a win and one loss each, but the defending champions Pakistan have a slight edge as they have a bonus point in their kitty from their win against associate nation Afghanistan.
India registered a facile victory over hosts Bangladesh in their tournament opener but went down to Sri Lanka by two wickets last night. Pakistan were also beaten by a narrow 12-run margin by the same opponents in their opening match of the Asia Cup.
For India, it was Virat Kohli’s sparkling century that did the job against Bangladesh, while for Pakistan Umar Akmal’s timely ton saved them from what could have been an embarrassing loss to Afghanistan.
But the sheer importance of the contest will mean that the past records will have little relevance as the two teams look to renew their rivalry and take some brownie points.
A new look middle order’s lack of execution would be a concern for the Indian team and the team management might think of including Cheteshwar Pujara to bring in some solidity.
With time running out fast for India in this tournament, it will be a riddle if Pujara continues to warm the bench. Test specialist Pujara might not have been in the hard-hitting mould but he would be capable of providing the much needed stability, which was lacking in the Indian batting up against Sri Lanka.
The failure of Ambati Rayudu (18), Dinesh Karthik (4) and Stuart Binny (0) hurt India badly as Sri Lanka restricted them to 264 for nine.
With Shikhar Dhawan (94) and Kohli (48) giving India the top order push, India were on course for a 300-plus total but with the middle order collapse, the target proved insufficient in the end.
In bowling, too, India missed a third spinner to back Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the death overs, something Sri Lanka did wisely with Ajantha Mendis inclusion.
India went ahead with Binny but his innocuous medium pacers never really helped the cause. And it seemed that Amit Mishra would have been a better choice.
The fact that the leg spinner is also pretty good with the bat, will certainly merit a selection for Sunday’s crucial game. India, however, can take heart from the fact that Rahane and Dhawan are back among runs to provide a great support to Kohli.
India would now desperately want opener Rohit Sharma to forget the horrors of Dale Steyn in the Johannesburg ODI against South Africa, and start afresh.
With skipper Kohli giving Sharma the full backing, it’s time for the opener to regain confidence and make a mark against Pakistan.
“We need to have faith in him because he’s done really well and stepped up when we didn’t have any opening options. He’s filled in that spot beautifully and I think he deserves all the faith,” Kohli had said.
India would also look to improve their fielding, especially after four dropped catches and one missed stumping against Sri Lanka. India missed a stumping chance against veteran Kumar Sangakkara, who showed the way with a breathtaking 84-ball 103 as Sri Lanka recovered from a middle-order batting collapse to pull off a thrilling two-wicket victory on Friday night. Sangakkara was let off on 30.
It remains to be seen how India turn it around against their traditional foes tomorrow but Pakistan, on their part, would not spare an inch when the two clash for the first time after their meeting in the ICC Champions Trophy, which Dhoni’s men had won in a rain-affected match.
Pakistan, too, face similar batting woes and the onus would be on skipper Misbah-ul-Haq to start fresh after his farcical run out without even facing a ball.
Number three batsman, Mohammad Hafeez’s form will also prove to be crucial in a tense match like this, as also the matchwinning allrounder Shahid Afridi, who continues to play mindless cricket. PTI