Finance
Team India will face their archrivals Pakistan in a high-voltage Super Four encounter in Dubai on Sunday, September 21, at 8 PM IST, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. with much more at stake than a berth in the final.
This is the second clash between these two nations since the Pahalgam terror strikes in April, which prompted the Indian Armed Forces to initiate Operation Sindoor against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. India won the opening match one-sidedly, chasing down 128 runs with seven wickets in hand, and spinner Kuldeep Yadav contributed significantly with a ‘Player of the Match’ winning bowling effort of 3/18, limiting Pakistan to 127/9.
However, as with many India-Pakistan clashes, the true ‘Masala’ was produced off the field, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube walking off the field after the win without shaking hands with the Pakistani side, with TV footage even showing the Men in Blue closing the door on Pakistan. The Indian captain dedicated the win to the Indian Armed Forces and showed solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror assault. Following Surya’s post-match interview, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha did not attend the post-match presentation, thus coach Mike Hesson was sent to speak with the media. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later filed a complaint against Pycroft, alleging him of ‘violation of ICC Code of Conduct’ and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) laws related to the spirit of cricket.
Pakistan canceled their pre-match press conference before their next match against the UAE. On the day of the match, the team barricaded themselves in the hotel, with PCB threatening to withdraw from the tournament if Pycroft was not removed. The match was delayed for an hour, but after a meeting between Pycroft and the Pakistan team’s leadership group, the action resumed, and Pakistan triumphed to advance to the Super Four stage. Notably, Pakistan cancelled its pre-match press conference prior to this match against India.
Notably, according to ESPNCricinfo, Pycroft was informed of the ‘no handshake’ between both captains just ‘four minutes ahead of the toss’ by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) site manager, and he was merely a messenger and not the one who issued the command. Also, shortly after Pycroft met with the Pakistan party, the PCB issued a statement alleging that the match referee had apologized. The ICC is said to be dissatisfied with it, and the concept of a response “clarifying” the issue was explored, though it is unclear whether it will be implemented. Despite worries stated before the meeting that a video would be shot, the PCB released a brief video of the event. The video was allowed to be posted without an audio.
With so much having taken place off the field, the controversy no doubt would be on the back of the minds of both skippers to some extent. While India will continue playing its ruthless brand of cricket like they have for the past few months, Pakistan, a highly unpredictable T20I side, could use this entire episode as a fuel to perhaps spring up a few surprises and play much better.
Ahead of the match, Indian skipper Suryakumar was confident in the team’s preparations and performance in the marquee clash, saying during the pre-match presser, “I feel our preparations have been excellent, leading into the tournament. We had three good games also, so we are actually focusing on what we can do best, and as I said on the toss as well, that we want to follow all the good habits, which we have been doing in the last 2-3 games. We will take one game at a time, but yeah, as you said, it does not give us an edge, that we have played them once and we had a good game, so of course it will be a good game, we will have to start well from scratch, and whoever plays well will win the game.”
He also spoke on the importance of closing out on outside noise ahead of such big matches, which sometimes brings with it controversies, and how it is not possible to keep the outside noise away from the team’s eyes and ears completely.
“Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep, I think that is the best, see it is easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult because you meet a lot of friends, you go out for dinner and you have lot of players also around who like to see all these things, so it is challenging, but then it is on you, what you want to listen to, what you want to have in your mind and go on and have a practice session or go on and have a play a game, but I have been very clear with all the boys, I think it is very important, if we want to do well this tournament and going forward, we will have to shut a lot of noise from outside and take what is good for you, I am not saying shut the noise completely, but take what is good for you, I mean someone can give you a good advice as well, which can help you in the game, which can help you on the ground, so I think that is very important for me and rest I feel everyone is good in a good space,” said the captain.
Pakistan’s spin attack of Mohammed Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, and Sufiyan Muqeem is expected to put up a stiff battle. Ayub, the opening batter who has had three consecutive ducks, will be looking to break the skid and score some runs against a top-class Indian line-up.
For India, the spin combination of Kuldeep, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel will need to duplicate their performance in Dubai, where they conceded only 60 runs and took six wickets in 12 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s famed ‘Jassi Bhai’, will pose a threat at any stage of the game.
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, their top run-getter with 99 runs at a strike rate of 225.00 and a maximum score of 38, would be a huge help to his team if he could make it past the powerplay. He is known for his powerplay batting and could be incredibly destructive against spinners; a 70-80 or century would be a welcome addition to his growing T20I cricket catalogue. Suryakumar, who broke his run drought against Pakistan in the last encounter with an unbeaten 47*, hopes to add another excellent score against his arch enemies. Vice-captain Shubman Gill, who has had a poor run with scores of 20*, 10 and 5, will be aiming for that one big score to justify his return to T20Is and his elevation to Surya’s deputy.
Squads:
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan Squad: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Source: ANI
