Pakistan seals series 2-0 with a big win in Kolkata

Nasir Jamshed continued his good form in the series with yet another century

Eden Gardens and Indian cricket go hand in hand. It has very much been the Mecca of Indian cricket, where the spectators have savoured quite a few mouth watering games over the years.

There was added flavour today as the arch rivals were taking the field – India vs Pakistan, after eight years at this venue. It was a perfect cricketing track at the Eden, abound with cracks and devoid of moisture. It had in it something for the pacers as well as the batsmen. The motto was written all over it, see through the initial overs and you’ll have a big score in the store. The overhead conditions were less threatening as well, wiping away chances of a wash away. Boasting of the most ebullient and jingoistic crowd, it was a sell-out at Kolkata, even on a week day! Write off ODIs at your own peril.

The coin finally decided to dance to Dhoni’s tune, as India won the toss and chose to field first. To make up for the selection blunder at Chennai, where India lacked a fifth bowler, Jadeja replaced Rohit Sharma. As anticipated, Pakistan went in with an unchanged line-up.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened the attack with the memories from Chennai fresh in his mind. The script though, was tweaked here in Pakistan’s favour early on. The openers Mohammed Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed got their heads in were swift to get the scorecard ticking. To be fair, the Indian attack did have its moments as a few outside edges flew off the bat but fortunately for Pakistan, they fell into no man’s land.

Nevertheless, credit goes to the Pakistan openers for the dream start they got off to. The opening stand of 141 blunted the Indian bowling to quite an extent. Hafeez churned out some sensational shots; the on-drive off Dinda’s first ball being a sheer delight to watch. Much to the dismay of the Indian camp, the opening bowlers failed to make any inroads. Raina was brought into the attack in 16th over, only to be milked for 10 runs. Quickly next, Ravindra Jadeja was brought into the attack in the 18th over. He provided the first breakthrough as Hafeez went for a wild heave and missed the line completely, disturbing the woodwork.

It opened the floodgates for Indian bowlers as none of the next Pakistan batsmen, barring Nazir Jamshed, applied themselves and fell like nine pins in the middle. Jamshed on the other hand, played displayed fabulous strokeplay and the hook off Dinda was particularly spectacular. He continued his good form as he amassed 106 off 121 balls, his second ton of the series, proving to be a real nemesis for the Indians. Younus Khan was unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a harsh decision, with the ball getting an inside edge before hitting the pad, but was given out LBW. The Indian bowling, which until the first wicket fell, looked lacklustre, dismantled the Pakistan line-up, bowling them out for 250. All the apprehension over Ravindra Jadeja’s selection was put to rest as he returned with the figures of 10-41-0-3. From 141/0 to 250 all out needed a Herculean effort from the Indian bowlers and they delivered the goods when it mattered the most.

Having to chase 250, the famed Indian openers made their way to the crease amid a rapturous applause from the Eden crowd, by far the most cricket frenzied crowd in the world. But India’s dismal run with the bat continued to haunt them. The famed top order was a failure again and the pressure fell on the lower order again. Gautam Gambhir was his edgy self and failed to trouble the scorers much. After plenty of close calls, eventually, without much surprise for anyone, he played on. The Sehwag jinx too continued. He did play a couple of scintillating strokes in his usual inimitable fashion, yet missed more than he played and got out for 31. Rusty is an understatement for his innings. It’s time for the selectors to take a pragmatic and a futuristic view and look into the opening problem.

Kohli is beginning to lose his Midas touch and the honeymoon period is over. He chased down a delivery on his thighs and Kamran Akmal pulled off a blinder. Yuvraj started off on a defensive note and just when he began to look settled, lost his head and top edged a short ball from Umar Gul; temperament is the key, they say. Suresh Raina, walking in at no. 5, looked solid in his defences and just when there was a semblance of a partnership alongside Dhoni, he was stumped off Hafeez in a swift manner by Akmal. He was stretched well forward, lost balance and in the process, hung his back heel in the air, leading to the stumping. Akmal, the target of cricket jokes in Pakistan for a long time now, had a dream day behind the wicket, stumping Ravichandran Ashwin too. Ashwin’s batting looked nowhere close to promising and he walked down the wicket in a wayward manner to get beaten by spin and thus throwing away his wicket.

The Pakistani bowlers were all over the Indian batsmen and Junaid Khan, the latest sensation, was his lethal self. The other bowlers complemented him well, causing constant trouble for the Indian batsmen. At 105/6 at the end of 33 overs, the wheels were coming off India’s chase. The last recognized pair, Dhoni and Jadeja were at the crease. They toiled hard and tried to stage a comeback, akin to the one in the previous game, but the pressure got the better of them and Jadeja was gone, holing out to mid on. In the same over, Saeed Ajmal trapped Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashok Dinda in front of the wicket and upped his tally to three. The final blow was delivered by Junaid Khan, castling Ishant Sharma and in turn, sealing the series for his team. India were bowled out for 165 in 48 overs, and bowled out of the series indeed. Kudos to the Pakistani bowlers for an astounding display of bowling, certainly one of the best efforts to tame to the famed Indian line up.

Pakistan has sealed the series 2-0, with 1 more match to go. It was a colossal batting failure on both the occasions and the much acclaimed Indian batting line up was left to bite the dust by some incisive bowling by the Pakistanis. The strongest attribute once, now became the weakest link. Failing miserably as a unit consistently is unpardonable and it calls for a sleuth of changes internally and externally. The Indian drawing room awaits a lot of refurbishment. The obituary has well been written and the time calls for a scrupulous and meticulous post-mortem.

Summary:

Pakistan won by 85 runs

Pakistan batting:

• Nasir Jamshed – 106(124)
• Mohd. Hafeez- 76(74)

Pakistan bowling:

• Saeed Ajmal 10-1-20-3
• Junaid Khan 9-1-39-3

India batting:

• M S Dhoni 54*(89)
• V Sehwag 31(43)

India bowling:

• R Jadeja- 10-1-41-3
• Ishant Sharma – 9.3-0-34-3