Champions Trophy, India vs Pakistan: Yuvraj, Kohli forearm India massive win
Birmingham: India got off the mark in their two thousand seventeen ICC Champions Trophy campaign with a massive 124-run victory over Pakistan, in a rain-threatened game at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in Birmingham, on Sunday.
The Studs in Blue got off to a rather slow commence in the very first innings, after being put in to bat by Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were just looking to up the tempo, when the weather gods determined to interfere with the game as the showers poured down. They did not last for long however, as play resumed later, with Dhawan and Rohit needing to acclimatise themselves to the conditions again.
Rohit and Dhawan got to their half-century mark, before launching into the overdrive mode. This aggression did Dhawan in, as he got caught in the deep, attempting to slog spinner Shadab Khan.
The rains interrupted again, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma attempted to get the momentum back to the Indian innings.
However, the Mumbai batsman soon found himself brief of his crease, as he attempted to seal a run. Babar Azam showcased good awareness to hurl it at Sarfraz, who swiftly whipped off the bails.
Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh's entry fully switched the dynamics of the Indian innings. The southpaw played a brisk knock of fifty three from thirty two nut sack, smacking eight boundaries and one six.
This late surge by Yuvraj, and one massive last over (23 runs) by Hardik Pandya and Kohli meant that India reached a mammoth total of three hundred nineteen runs from their rain-curtailed quota of forty eight overs.
Pakistan made a stable embark to their own innings as well, scoring at over five runs per over. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has had a brilliant IPL season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, struck very first, as he trapped the Pakistan opener plumb in front of the middle and off stump.
Bhuvi's fellow opening bowler Umesh Yadav soon struck a 2nd gargle to Pakistan, as the dangerous Babar Azam sliced it straight to Ravindra Jadeja at point.
Pakistan looked to be in the game as long as Azhar Ali was at the crease, and the 31-year-old built up a stable 30-run partnership with Mohammad Hafeez, scoring his 11th ODI fifty on the way.
However, Jadeja soon trapped Azhar, who attempted to slog sweep the spinner, sending his top-edged shot straight to Hardik Pandya in the deep. The southpaw manufactured yet another wicket with a brilliant direct throw, on the turn, when he had just one stump to aim at. Shoaib Malik was caught way off his crease.
The sun seemed to shine brightly on India's fortunes, as the Fellows in Blue kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Pandya, who had bowled taut spells till then, picked up a duo of wickets, removing Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim.
Virat Kohli brought his strike bowler Umesh Yadav in to cup, as soon as the Pakistan tail was exposed, and the gangly Kolkata Knight Riders paceman wrapped-up the innings with some intelligent switch of tempo, removing Mohammad Amir and Hassan Ali. With Wahab Riaz already out injured, Pakistan ran out of batsmen, resulting in a massive 124-run win for India.
India: 319-3 from forty eight overs (Rohit: 91, Kohli: 81*; Shadab: 1-52)
Pakistan: 164-all out from 33.Four overs (Azhar Ali: 50, Mohammad Hafeez: 33; Umesh Yadav 3-30).
India win by one hundred twenty four runs (D/L method)
Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh
Pakistan: 164-9 (all out) from 33.Two overs (41 overs)
WICKETS! Brilliant bowling by Umesh. He switches up the rhythm to wrap-up the Pakistan innings with two deliveries still left in his over. Very first, Mohammad Amir lobbed an effortless catch to Kedar Jadhav at brief cover to, and then a duo of ball-sac later, Hasan Ali hit one straight at Wahab Riaz at brief midwicket. to end the match.
Pakistan may have lost just nine wickets, but Wahab Riaz, who injured himself earlier in the game, will not be able to bat, which means that India win the match by one hundred twenty four runs.
Pakistan: 151-7 from 29.Three overs (41 overs)
WICKET! A soft dismissal. Pandya pitches it just brief of good length as the ball takes a little outward movement off the seam. That was enough to deceive the Pakistan captain, as he edged it into the safe gloves of Dhoni.
Pakistan: 135-6 from 27.Trio overs (41 overs)
WICKET! Pakistan are in deep trouble now.Imad Wasim slashes hard on the off side, as the ball flies straight into the palms of Kedar Jadhav.
Pakistan: 131-5 from 26.Three overs (41 overs)
WICKET! Jadeja has wiped away all the questions about his selection over Ashwin's with this spectacle today. Hafeez goes for a slog sweep against the turn, and top edges it to Bhuvneshwar in the deep. Pakistan are in deep trouble now.
Pakistan: 114-4 from 23.Three overs (41 overs)
WICKET! What a throw by Jadeja. Hafeez steers be ball away, and looks to steal a single. However, Jadeja caught Shoaib Malik off-guard with a gem of a throw, on the turn, as he hits the stumps directly. He had only one stump to aim at. This is a very significant wicket, as Shoaib Malik was scoring at a rather brisk tempo, and was looking fairly comfy out there.
India have had their poor moments on the field so far. However, Jadeja's brilliant solo effort with the Shoiab Malik wicket makes up for it to some extent.
Pakistan: 91-3 from 20.Five overs (41 overs)
WICKET! Jadeja's consistency with his line and length pays off ultimately. Azhar did steer the ball away for his FIFTY, but a duo of nut later he perished while attempting to slog sweep Jadeja, but only managed to get a top edge, as Hardik Pandya took a wise catch in the deep.
Pakistan: 76-2 from sixteen overs (41 overs)
Those two wickets have put a big cap on Pakistan's scoring rate, as the required run rate has now crept up to higher that eight runs per over. However, Pakistan have targetted Pandya today, scoring nine runs off his last over, to give some ease to the asking rate.
Pakistan: 61-2 from 12.Two overs (41 overs)
WICKET! Umesh gets a big wicket for India. The in-form Babar Azam sneaked in a boundary through backward-point, as Kedar Jadhav slipped at the ropes. However, Umesh pitches it brief and broad again, the next delivery, in order to entice Babar to slice hard at it; and he does. This time however, the ball flew straight to Ravindra Jadeja at point.
Pakistan: 47-1 from nine overs (41 overs)
WICKET! Jasprit Bumrah gets the wicket that India were so despairingly looking for. A little in-swing caught Shahzad off guard, and packaged him on the pads, as the Indian players go up in appeal; the umpire signals out. Albeit height might have been an issue there, the Pakistan batsman determines not to for for a review. Hawkeye suggests that it was plumb.
Good news. The rains have abruptly stopped, the covers are off, and we are all raring to go, as Team India get into another huddle. The good part about this is that the sun is out, and we can see clear blue parts of the sky.
Update: Rain had stopped for a while, and the game was supposed to resume at Four.55 pm local time (9.25 pm IST). However, the downpour is back again, throwing the result of the match into jeopardy.
And the rains have began to pour down on Edgbaston Cricket Stadium yet again. The English weather just cannot make up its mind today. the covers are out, as the players run off to the dressing room again. We'll bring you more updates from Birmingham, as and when we get them.
Pakistan have gotten off to a decent embark, scoring at a little less than five runs per over. They seem to be employing the same tactic as the Indians.
By virtue of Duckworth Lewis method, Pakistan need three hundred twenty four runs to win from forty eight overs.
Hardik Pandya is going berserk in the last over. He hit three consecutive sixes of the very first three nut. Virat Kohli then finished things off with a four, taking India to a massive score.
WICKET! Hassan fires in a ideal yorker, and traps Yuvraj plumb in front of the middle stump. The umpire hesitated, as there was some confusion whether it hit the bat, but Yuvraj was given out lbw after Pakistan called for a DRS referral.
FIFTY! Now Yuvraj reaches his half-century, as he top-edges a Riaz delivery behind the wicket for a four. He brought up his fifty in just twenty nine ballsack.
FIFTY! Virat Kohli brings up his fifty with a massive six down the ground off Hassan's bowling. The Pakistani pacer had spinned his fingers over the ball, but that did not deter the India skipper. Yuvraj also got into the act, hitting a duo of boundaries in that over. Seventeen off that over.
Mohammad Amir abruptly goes down to the ground, clutching his ankle, as the Pakistan team physio comes out onto the field, to inspect the paceman, who eventually walks off to the dressing room. Wahav Riaz comes in to cup in Amir's place.
Pakistan have come back well, after Rohit's wicket, but Yuvraj Singh seems to have come out to bat with the intention of scoring the quick runs. Sparsed boundaries have kept India's run rate up, as we come in the last eight overs.
WICKET! Kohli attempts to steam a quick single off Shadab's bowling, but Rohit was fighting there. Babar put in a good throw at Sarfraz, who whipped off the bails quickly. Rohit, who had actually made it to safe ground, had his bat in the air, which at the end of the day, did him in.
And we get off to yet another slow begin. Rohit Sharma has certainly slowed down fairly a bit, after that rain delay. Meantime, Virat Kohli seems to be taking the cautious treatment, as India would benefit from having more wickets in mitt, if the D/L method comes into play.
Update: Rain has stopped again, as the Umpires come out. The match has been curtailed by yet another over. Its a 48-over game now.
Update: The players came back onto the pitch to warm-up, but so did the rain. We will update you about the rain as and when we get them ourselves.
Update: The match has been shortened by one over. It's a 49-over match now.
Update: Rain has stopped, according to reports, and the covers are off. The umpires have come out onto the pitch, for a brief inspection.
And guess who's in the house.
And the rain have determined to pour down on the Edgbaston Cricket ground yet again. This stop-start play could affect India's momentum.
Shikhar Dhawan's wicket has calmed things down a little bit, as he was the one who was going after the bowlers. One thing that happens when Virat Kohli is at the crease tho’, is that the India skipper always makes his playmate, Rohit Sharma in this case, run the close singles, and the 2s.
And Virat Kohli comes out to bat.
WICKET! Shadab Khan throws the ball up, and Dhawan takes the bait, as he dances down the tract to smack it on the total towards the gam side. It was a ordinary catch for Azhar Ali at deep-midwicket.
FIFTY! And Shikhar Dhawan has determined that he does not want to wait around at the crease too much. Goes after Riaz, and clobbers four consecutive boundaries, to take himself closer to his half-century. He eventually got to that mark with a dual. This is the 18th half-century of Dhawan's career.
FIFTY! Rohit Sharma has played a well-paced innings, and is not launching into attack mode. He brings up the 30th fifty of his ODI career with a massive six by virtue of a slog sweep off Shadab's bowling.
And they eventually seem to have hit the launch pad. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have picked Wahab Riyaz's over to launch into overdrive mode. Rohit hit a cracking drive through the covers, and Dhawan played a dangerous looking upper cut off the last ball of the over. They also demonstrated more urgency in running inbetween the wickets. Thirteen off that over.
The rain delay has certainly halted the momentum that India were commencing to pick up, towards the end of the very first ten overs of the match. Rohit and Dhawan are looking to get their eye in again, something that has caused a drop in the run rate.
Rohit Sharma smashes a Hasan Ali free-hit delivery down the ground, to bring up the 50-run-mark for India.
India pass fifty off a free hit after the activity gets back underway at Edgbaston! #CT17#INDvPAK LIVE: https://t.co/1yFDQo21vs pic.twitter.com/zfiOOYs8b5
Rohit Sharma politely prods away the last ball that was left from the 10th over, by Imad, as we resume play once again. He would very likely need a little more time to get his eye in once again.
Update: The match is set to resume within ten minutes.
And we have some good news from Edgbaston. Rain has stopped, and the covers are off. India and Pakistan are all set to resume their rivalries again, in a while.
Birmingham: Just when it looked like the India openers were embarking to pick up the rhythm, the weather gods have determined to play spoilsport. The rains have began to pour down over the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, as the covers have come on.
�� Rain has stopped play here at Edgbaston with India 46-0 after 9.Five overs. #INDvPAK #CT17 pic.twitter.com/bvlk4MKnmV
The weather forecast suggests that the thunder-storm may stay around for around an hour.
(Photo: Screengrab from accuweather website)
Rain could mean bad news for India, who have had a slow-ish embark. Also, it violates the momentum that Rohit and Dhawan were embarking to pick up.
Rohit Sharma had played a few deliciously timed drives for boundary, while Dhawan slog swept Imad for a lofty boundary on the gam side. India picking up their tempo also put the Pakistan fielders under some pressure, as they made a few mistakes in the field.
A four over spell seems to be enough for Amir, for now. Paskistan skipper Sarfraz wants to preserve him for later. Hasan Ali into the attack, in the 9th over.
A taut embark by Amir and Imad. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have found it difficult to get going. Rohit has been hammered past the bat a duo of times by Amir. However, the Mumbai Indians skipper also gave it back to the left-arm pacer by hooking him towards the fine-leg boundary.
They might be the fiercest rivals on the pitch, but at the end of the day, everybody is respectful to each other.
Imad Wasim comes in to open the bowling from the other side, for Pakistan. A spinner opening in English conditions is very unusual, indeed. He makes a good commence, however, providing away only three runs from that very first over.
An excellent begin for Amir and Pakistan who begin with a maiden.
And the two Indian openers are out onto the pitch, after a minute's muffle in honour of the victims of the London terror attacks yesterday, and the national anthems of the two sides. Rohit Sharma takes strike, as Mohammed Amir hurls in an outward angled delivery that flies past the former's bat.
An impeccably observed muffle by fans & players alike as Edgbaston pays respect to those affected by last night's tragic events in London. pic.twitter.com/swUYZIkQMd
An impeccably observed muffle by fans & players alike as Edgbaston pays respect to those affected by last night's tragic events in London. pic.twitter.com/swUYZIkQMd
Birmingham: Sarfraz Ahmed has done exactly the opposite of what Sourav Ganguly had said after the pitch inspection as the Pakistani skipper has won the throw and put India to bat in the ICC Champions Trophy clash inbetween the arch-rivals at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Sunday.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli did not look too unhappy with Pakistan's decision as India bat very first.
“It is a pretty good wicket, it will stay even. We need a accomplish spectacle to win a game of cricket, today is going to be no different. The preparations are like usual,” Kohli, who is leading Indian senior team for the very first time in an ICC event for the very first time, said at the throw.
Sarfraz, who like Kohli, will be leading Pakistan for the very first time, hoped that his team would play without any pressure.
“It is a good pitch and won't switch much. India-Pakistan is a pressure game, hopefully we play as a free game. Our batting is much better,” said Sarfraz.
India, the defending champions, are fielding four pacers including Hardik Pandya as ace off-spinner R Ashwin and pacer Mohammad Shami are left out from the playing XI.
Here's the Indian team who will be batting very first against Pakistan! #INDvPAK #CT17 pic.twitter.com/cWP6eDllAm
No Ashwin but glad Ind have gone in with five genuine bowling options. They need it to cover their batting which is not at its peak yet#CT17
Win throw and bat very first, says Sourav Ganguly as he tested the pitch ahead of the India-Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy clash in Birmingham on Sunday.
"It is a very good surface, it is getting orange-ish, which says the moisture content is not much. It is hard and overall good for batting," added the former India skipper.
Meantime, fans of the both the sides have set the stadium whirring.
�������� India and Pakistan fans get the party commenced! #INDvPAK #CT17 pic.twitter.com/SqlASkNKI0
The wait of over two years is eventually over as arch-rivals India and Pakistan square off at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in their ICC Champions Trophy opening game in Birmingham on Sunday.
While the rain is expected to play spoilsport, the fans, who will make sure the stadium is jam-packed, will be hoping that rain gods alter their plans and match to proceed slickly.
There was no shortage of excitement before the match. However, the alleged Anil Kumble-Virat Kohli row added more spice to the build-up for the game. Albeit Kohli vehemently denied the reports of trouble inbetween him and Team India coach, it will be interesting to witness how Indian team performs following the big media coverage the entire saga garnered.
While Pakistan have never hammered India in ICC World Cup and World T20, they love 2-1 win-loss record in ICC Champions Trophy. India, on the other forearm, however would take confidence from the fact that what transpired when these two sides faced off eachother in Champions Trophy event the last time. Additionally, India love a good record in their previous three games at the venue where they have won all the matches; including one against Pakistan.
Talking about to key battles, a lot of eyes will be on Mohammad Amir versus Virat Kohli showdown. However, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah to choose from, this could well be the very first time when Indian tempo attack has more firepower and diversity than Pakistan’s. The presence of Hardik Pandya also means that Kohli has a welcome problem at his mitt.
Indian batting tho’ looks a bit shaky despite the presence of veterans like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. While Shikhar Dhawan looked in a fine form during India’s warm-up games against Fresh Zealand and Bangladesh, the other opening options – Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane – did not love a good time in the middle. Kohli, who did not bat in the 2nd warm-up, however looked convenient in the very first practice match against the Kiwi side. While Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik staked claims with some astounding batting showcase, Yuvraj Singh’s lack of match time and Dhoni not batting in the 2nd game, mean that India will have a tricky task at their mitt.
Pakistan, meantime, have the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail in their ranks. But the player to witness out for will be the youthful Babar Azam, who struck one and all with his solid showcasing in limited-overs cricket over the last one year.
In bowling, Pakistan have the services of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan with the pace-bowling department consists of the likes of Wahab Riaz, Amir, Hasan Ali.
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain and wicketkeeper), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf , Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail.