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“Since we’re on a rain break,” writes Steve Bloomfield. “I thought you might fancy taking a look at this profile of Virat Kohli we’ve got in the new issue of Prospect. Phil Collins wrote it and it’s pretty good.” *Right click / save to Pocket *
“Thanks a lot for your interesting (and quite relaxed) coverage of the game,” emails Vinayak Sapru. “As an Indian in the Middle East, I find myself at work on a Sunday afternoon surrounded by Pakistanis. I’m quite enjoying gloating quietly at my desk while my colleagues follow the more stress inducing ball-by-ball commentaries.” Thanks for being part of the mighty OBO fam.
A good suggestion for renaming the French Cut. “If it is a matter of luck for the incompetent, can we rename it Boris cut?” asks Meghnad Desai. We must. Did everyone catch Marina Hyde’s column yesterday? Goodness me. All the lines.
Related: Boris Johnson is the Howard Hughes of this Tory leadership race | Marina Hyde
I’ll keep churning through my inbox, as we’ll be back on soon. “I‘ve been following the commentary from north of Toronto and can’t help feeling India have left some runs on the table after the great start by Rohit in particular,” writes Stephen Hodson. “Pakistan will struggle unless they can bide their time and preserve wickets in the reply. Makes for a compelling contest.”
I share that first view. With 150 on the board at the halfway mark, they will be at least a little bit disappointed not to hit 350. Pakistan almost pegged it back well.
It’s going to be that kind of afternoon.
More emails, then. “Loving the coverage as per usual!” writes Seamus Whitehead. Thank you. FULL CREDIT to Tim de Lisle. It is very, very difficult to OBO a high-scoring ODI innings, especially a high-profile fixture with emails flooding in. He did a magnificent job. “My weekly six-a-side Sunday league takes place at the Trafford Sports Barn, a mere slog-sweep from the cricket today. As the goals flowed on the pitch we could hear the roars of the crowd pick up with uncanny timing. They were cheering for us weren’t they?”
I’m sorry.
A quick round of emails, shall we? To begin: Abhijato Sensarma has a man crush on Yuvraj. Him and a billion others. What a player.
“Really can’t top Pete Salmon’s wonderful Kohli related earworm,” writes Brian Withington, “but wanted to share my regret that we had not been treated to the portentous opening riffs of Led Zepelin’s Kashmir at his arrival to the crease. (I’m guessing it might have been considered a little insensitive given the wider geopolitical baggage.). Still gets my vote as the OBO anthem of choice for when rain stops play:
The big temporary stand at Old Trafford is incredible:
- 71 rows
- 8,560 seats
- has 47k of scaffolding
- took 25 days 15 people to build#CWC19
50th over: India 336-5 (Shankar 15, Jadhav 9) Shankar shows his worth here in the final over, getting on one knee to loft Amir over extra cover with style for a one-bounce four after the left-armer started well. The 28-year-old is on World Cup debut, playing just his 10th ODI. Can he stick the landing? Not quite, shovelling one to long-on after Amir misdirected a wide. Jadhav faces up to the final ball of the innings with protection mostly on the off side rope. He can’t bisect those sweepers though, one to cover his lot. Nine from the 50th. Pakistan need 337.
49th over: India 327-5 (Shankar 9, Jadhav 7) Technology shows no edge from Kohli despite the fact that the Indian captain looked to.... walk? There was no out signal from the umpire, according to the telly. Anyway, Wahab now to bowl the penultimate over, beginning with a sprayed delivery, repeated outside the tram trams on the off side. When Jadhav does get something to hit he launches it over extra cover into the gap for four. “He gets in line and hits through the line,” says Ganguly on TV. He gives the strike back to Shankar, who hacks hooks two out in the same direction then finishes with one to the sweeper at cover. 12 off it.
I have a great many emails already. It’s that kind of fixture. Be patient with me.
48th over: India 315-5 (Shankar 5, Jadhav 1) What a superb job Amir has done throughout the Indian innings, across three spells. Efficient and effective, he has the figures of 3/38 with the 50th over ahead of him from the Jimmy Anderson End.
Kohli bounced out by Amir! He’s been Pakistan’s best bowler by a mile today and now has picked up the Indian skipper hooking, a little edge going through to his opposing number Sarfraz. The green machine have pegged this back nicely.
47th over: India 311-4 (Kohli 75, Shankar 4) Wahab to Shankar from the first ball after the rain delay, squeezed over cover for one. Now to Kohli, he goes with the slower ball bouncer but it is just over his head by far enough to be called a wide. Rebowling the final delivery, Kohli has enough space to prod the ball from fifth stump past the short third man down to the rope. Excellent placement. So, six runs from two balls - the ideal re-start.
“Mention of the OBO going back to 2003 is as good an excuse as any to bring up this classic from the lovable Scott Murray,” emails Ben Christopher Jackson. “He certainly was a pioneer of the medium and now excuse me while I go back to hitting F5 on the Golf page to see if he’s started his US Open fourth round updates yet.”
Right, so where were we? Well, India are 305/4. As we left for rain, Shankar (3) was given out caught behind, the decision overturned by DRS. Wahab is the man with the ball in his hand, four balls into the 47th over. Kohli is up the other end on 71 from 62 balls, already passing 11,000 ODI runs in this innings - the fastest to do so by some 63 innings, I’m told. As you do. The players are now back on the field so we can get this party (re)started. PLAY!
If this does go the distance, it is going to be a marathon stint. So please do keep me company. You know the deal - email, twitter, ICQ, Friendster.
Thanks, Tim. As you can see in the header, I bring very good news: we’re starting again in ten minutes! No overs lost either, with lunch reduced to 15 minutes.
Now for the big news. Adam has finished his lunch.
He texts to say THE COVERS ARE COMING OFF, so it’s over to him. Thanks for your company, your wisdom on Indo-Pak relations, your man-crushes and your unexpected compliments. It’s been a pleasure as ever, and the 2019 World Cup, like this game, is still not quite half over.
For some reason, everyone’s being nice today. So look away now if you don’t want to see the OBO blow smoke up its own keyboard. “Hello!” Hello Hilla Krüger! “Thank you so much for your excellent coverage!” No, thank you! “Don’t miss watching the match at all as I prefer reading what all of you have to say, sitting in Switzerland!” It’s always good to hear from a reader with an umlaut.
“Top of the morning to you!” And to you, Anurag Mathur. “Thanks for making this so enjoyable. Am out on errands so getting to read your commentary live in every break. Sigh! Wish commentators were as exciting (and funny). You bring the fun back into a game that is converted into a spreadsheet on most channels!” To be fair, the TV commentators are a help to us OBOers – both because they spot things, and because, as you say, they don’t tend to play it for laughs.
More on the Harrow whatever. “The Harrow Cut,” says John Starbuck firmly, “is obviously a term used by boys from other public schools. It is also variously known as a Derbyshire Cut, a Staffordshire Cut and a Chinese Cut. The point is that it is a scoring shot unintended by the batsman, hence by a lucky semi-incompetent: very insulting and not to be used in these days. We ought to be able to come up with something better.” Hmmm. The Chinese cut clearly has the potential to be offensive, but the others are OK, aren’t they? Just a little touch of local colour. If any Harrovians are reading this, perhaps they can tell us whether they take umbrage.
“Diplomatic incident,” says Reg Gorczynski (13:55). “The rain is more likely to cause India some angst…if it lasts a reasonable time, Pakistan may get a free pass at a short ‘big bash’ when they were quite unlikely to surpass what was looking to be a very big 50-over total.” Good point.
It would be so great for the tournament if Pakistan could somehow pull it off. So far the big four – Australia, India, New Zealand and England – have dropped only six points between them, whereas the other six teams have dropped an average of six points each. The table is like a plane that has first class and economy, but no business class.
Time for a man crush.“Noticed during the India v Australia game,” says Pete Salmon, “that the OBO riffed about players’ names that gave them earworms. Couldn’t participate as I was at the game, but mine is not only an earworm but also reflects the man crush I think any sensible chap would have:
Kohli, Kohli, Kohli, Kohli
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man
Kohli, Kohli, Kohli, Kohli
Please don’t take him just because you can
“Get flutters just humming it.” There’s an entire drag act waiting to happen in that stanza. Kohli Parton, a sensation on the Edinburgh Fringe.
“Next update 2.30pm,” says Adam Collins, texting me from the back half of the pantomime horse. “So I will grab a quick plate and bring it back to my seat in the press box.” There is such a thing as a free lunch, but only for cricket writers who actually go to the game.
Some more correspondence.“Can someone please explain,” asks Nigel Smith, “what a Harrow shot is?” It’s a thin inside edge, which takes the ball close to the stumps, but often goes for four because professional captains don’t post long stops. Why it’s named after a famous old school, I’m not sure – over to the hive mind.
Time for some Dad stuff. I’ve been neglecting the fact that it’s Father’s Day, but Brian Withington has stepped up to the plate. “Having just tucked in to a delightful Father’s Day brunch,” he purrs, “I was thrilled to open one of my cards and discover that I have finally made it successfully into my ‘favourite’ daughter’s all-time top two parents list.” Ha. We all need a sarky daughter. “Now enjoying the obligatory celebratory lemon sherbert whilst awaiting the impending feast of Powerplay 3. Bring it on.”
My kids didn’t let me down either. My daughter said she’d be following the OBO even though she only understands about 12 per cent of it. With precision like that, love, you really should be a cricket fan. My son said “Happy Father’s Day Dad. Hope you don’t cause a diplomatic incident.”
While the TV umpire was rocking and rolling, the on-field umpires decided the drizzle had turned to proper rain, so they’ve taken the players off.
There’s a gap between bat and ball that is so wide, it could be the gap between India’s politicians and Pakistan’s.
Off Wahab. There was a noise, but Shankar seems confident...
46th over: India 302-4 (Kohli 70, Shankar 1) A wicket and only five runs off the over from Amir, who now has the figures he deserves – 8-0-34-2. And at least Pakistan have forced Shankar to bat. But Kohli motors on and the 300 comes up, with the third hundred taking only 68 balls, whereas the first two were just over 100 apiece. India have already won this, haven’t they?
At last, the wickets are coming in pairs. Amir strikes again, by scrambling the seam and taking the edge. It’s all about Kohli now.
45th over: India 297-3 (Kohli 67, Dhoni 1) How would you or I bowl in the face of a barrage like this? The way Hassan bowls now, sending consecutive balls down the leg side, which Kohli has only to glance for four. Oh dear. And Kohli has gone to 11,000 ODI runs in 222 innings, the fastest in history.
44th over: India 286-3 (Kohli 56, Dhoni 0) Amir returns, with enough overs to stay on for the rest of the innings. A flick for two takes Kohli to fifty, which is greeted the way a triple-hundred would be by any other crowd. Amir deserves a wicket, and it’s worth getting rid of the dangerous Pandya, but Pakistani hearts won’t be lifted by the sight of Old Man Dhoni.
“You’re serving the OBO with pizzazz nowadays, then, Tim?” scoffs Phil Sawyer. “I’ll have olives and mushrooms on mine, ta.”
Pandya gets a little too Mr Whippy, flicking more than on-driving and giving Babar Azam another straightforward catch. A decent cameo, though: without being at his murderous best, he used up only 19 balls.
43rd over: India 274-2 (Kohli 48, Pandya 22) Pandya, who can be so destructive, has started quietly – until now, as he misjudges Hassan’s slower ball and edges for six. He misses the next one, also slow, but then whips a would-be yorker for four to long leg. Pandya stands deep in the crease, whereas Kohli stands outside it, so for the bowlers, it’s like when Hayden and Langer were opening for Australia. Testing.
42nd over: India 261-2 (Kohli 47, Pandya 10) Kohli has such exceptional antennae that he is now tuning into these words from the middle. Spotting a fuller ball from Wahab, he lofts him into the deep for four. That’s his most imperious moment so far today.
41st over: India 254-2 (Kohli 41, Pandya 9) Six off the over from Hassan, not bad at this stage. Kohli has accelerated as expected, taking 25 off his last 24 balls; now he needs to go even faster.
40th over: India 245-2 (Kohli 37, Pandya 4) Kohli, sniffing the match situation, belts the first ball of Shadab’s over for four.
“Is anyone,” wonders Peter Williams, “going to produce a highlight video of Sarfaraz’s facial expressions from the World Cup so far? Could go down well on YouTube.” Very true. If he was an actor, he would get plenty of work as the downtrodden servant in Shakespeare.
39th over: India 238-2 (Kohli 30, Pandya 4) Sharma departed berating himself. He had seen the field change – Kohli pointed it out – so his irritation was to do with failing to clear the man. Any minute now, he will calm down again and realise that he has played one of the all-time great World Cup innings – 140 off only 113 balls, setting the stage superbly for Kohli and Pandya.
He’s given it away! After being so good for so long, Sharma switches off, doesn’t spot the man at short fine leg, and sends a lap-ramp hybrid straight to him. “Too funky,” says Michael Clarke, sounding, possibly for the first time, like Prince.
38th over: India 230-1 (Sharma 136, Kohli 30) Wahab’s over goes for ten as Sharma flick-pulls him for four. The measure of Sharma’s mastery is that he has outscored Kohli by two to one, 61 to 30.
37th over: India 220-1 (Sharma 128, Kohli 29) If you can hear anything above the hubbub, it’s the slam of a bolt across a stable door: Imad does have a slip now, so the batsmen content themselves with milking him. It’s all one big agricultural metaphor.
Here’s Krishnamoorthy, back for a second spell. “Rohit Sharma has singlehandedly converted the ‘important toss to win’ to harakiri,” he observes. “And Uma Nair [26th over] is spot on. I nowadays prefer OBO and MBM over the actual telecast. Rob Barnay Barry Paul Will Tim .... you guys are a great panel.” Thanks, but there are more of us than that.
36th over: India 215-1 (Sharma 126, Kohli 26) Sharma plays that upper cut of his again, slapping Wahab for four. And that’s drinks, with the Indians even more on top than they were when they last took a swig of Lucozade.
35th over: India 206-1 (Sharma 119, Kohli 24) Imad bowls the perfect slow-left-arm ball to Sharma, turning, taking the edge, and presenting an easy catch to first slip – except that there isn’t one. In the dressing-room, Hardik Pandya is padded up and practising his big hits.
34th over: India 199-1 (Sharma 113, Kohli 23) Shadab gets one to lift and turn, which reminds you that Shane Warne loved Old Trafford. But it’s also ominous for Pakistan, as they have to face two wrist-spinners later. Next ball, quite unruffled, Sharma sweeps for four, bringing the blade down like an executioner.
“Amongst all the ‘Let’s at least make this a contest’ talk,” says Gary Naylor, “we should note that Pakistan crossed 340 three times out of four in the recent ODI series vs England. No score is unchaseable these days for the circular reason that no score is considered unchaseable.” In general, agreed; but in this World Cup, no score of 250 has been chaseable so far. And Pakistan’s World Cup record against India is, unfortunately, dire.
33rd over: India 191-1 (Sharma 106, Kohli 22) Sarfaraz wants to keep four overs of Amir up his sleeve, umps permitting, so he goes back to Imad, who keeps the batsmen down to four singles.
32nd over: India 187-1 (Sharma 104, Kohli 20) Shadab continues and so does the milking. The fifty partnership comes up at a run a ball. It’s been serene. If you don’t take two wickets in quick succession, you’ve got hardly any chance – but Pakistan, when they take two, are apt to grab six, so it’s too early to write them off.
31st over: India 181-1 (Sharma 102, Kohli 16) After letting Sharma have his moment, Kohli looks to dominate for the first time – a full ball from Amir, a glorious off-drive, on the up. His 16 has come off 21 balls; the next 16 won’t take so long.
30th over: India 172-1 (Sharma 100, Kohli 9) Just when Wahab was offering a threat, he is taken off, as Shadab returns. The noise on 99 is massive, never mind the hundred, which comes up as Sharma rocks back to cut for an easy single. He gets a hug from Kohli and a din and a half from the crowd, which he fully deserves (a) for making 100 off only 85 balls, and (b) for keeping his head where many a strong person might turn to jelly.
“Greetings from Sale,” says Guy Hornsby, “where I can report the sun is peeking out. Alongside a dry afternoon, the one thing this match needs is a contest, and you feel without wickets this could get sticky for Pakistan. Predictable posturing aside, this is what cricket is all about.”
29th over: India 165-1 (Sharma 95, Kohli 7) Amir returns, with a slip and gully – better strategy from Sarfaraz – and beats Kohli by scrambling the seam and pushing the ball across him. Amir has 0-9 from five overs: it’s as if he’s playing in a different match.
28th over: India 164-1 (Sharma 94, Kohli 7) Wahab, going round the wicket now, keeps Kohli honest by angling it in, and raps him on the gloves with a well-aimed lifter. The predictor is saying 351 now.
Here’s Brian Withington again, striking a personal note. “Venkat’s heartfelt plea [19th over] made an exiled East Ender who used to live nervously in the Rotherhithe DMZ really appreciate that there’s a decent river as well as the unlikely prospect of promotion/relegation between Millwall and West Ham football clubs – and that neither set of supporters has yet acquired nuclear missile launch codes.”
27th over: India 160-1 (Sharma 92, Kohli 6) Sharma plays the shot of the day so far, an upper cut for six off Hassan. If he put any effort into that, he certainly wasn’t going to show it. Kohli, meanwhile, gets a thick inside edge and scrambles two. If you didn’t know his name, you’d think he was very much the junior partner here.
26th over: India 151-1 (Sharma 85, Kohli 4) Wahab’s over goes for a regulation five.
And here’s an email from Uma Nair, pulsating like the match itself. “Pakistan and India have these full-throttled accelerating two-to-tango duels. While our histories overlap and overwhelm, what stands out is an unwritten admiration and respect for great players and worthy records that will create their own pages of history on both sides of the board. Here am I, an art critic and curator, watching the adrenalin-pumped stands full of visitors who belong to either nation or even well-heeled Brits who love watching the alchemy pour out from fields to stands. But I must say I watch the game and read your notes with great relish. It gives me something to savour because somehow the commentators don’t have your pizazz!!” Ah thanks. That’s the OBO, serving pizazz since, when was it, 2003?
25th over: India 146-1 (Sharma 81, Kohli 3) Now it’s pace at both ends as Hafeez too is ostracised for a bad first over. Hassan Ali draws an inside edge from Sharma, but it’s another Harrow squirt for four. And Kohli, of course, is instantly at home, with a cut for one and a pull for two. At the half-way stage, India are well on top but not absolutely lording it.
“Just catching up with the coverage,” says Brian Withington, “I see that in over 14 Sarfaraz ‘shoes some faith’ in Shadab. Just wondering whether that was a petite size eight belief or the size 14 Derek Pringle specials with the cut-out toes?” Nice one: putting the stiletto in, not the boot.
24th over: India 136-1 (Sharma 75, Kohli 0) Senior or not, Shoaib found himself ditched after one over. Wahab returned for the first taste of pace since the 10th over, got a warning for running on the middle of the pitch, but made that vital incision. For Pakistan, blessed relief. For India, better to lose Rahul than Sharma.
At last! An apparently innocuous delivery, but Rahul chips it straight to Babar at extra cover. Friends, Indians, cricket-lovers, cover your ears – it’s time for Kohli.
23rd over: India 134-0 (Rahul 57, Sharma 74) You wait an hour and a half for an elderly part-time off-spinner, then two come along at once. And each of them goes for 11 off his first over. Mohammad Hafeez tosses it up and Rahul helps himself to six, inside-out over wide long-off. The carnage has resumed.
22nd over: India 123-0 (Rahul 51, Sharma 69) Now we do have a change of bowling, and it is an elderly part-timer coming on – Shoaib Malik, playing his 287th ODI. He shows none of that experience by dropping short to Rahul, who pulls him for six to reach fifty off 69 balls. It’s been old-school.
“Couldn’t agree more with Venkat,” says Aditya Anchuri, picking up on the 19th over. “It’s made worse in this day and age of social media. People using an innocent cricket match to further their petty political agendas.”
21st over: India 112-0 (Rahul 43, Sharma 66) Rahul gets out of his rut by milking Imad.
A tweet from Gary Naylor. “Effigy manufacturing companies share prices rising on the Lahore Stock Exchange,” he chortles. “The deluxe Sarfaraz edition and the ever popular Shoaib model look the best investments as it stands now. Though you might not want to throw out the Hardik Pandya ones just yet.”
20th over: India 105-0 (Rahul 39, Sharma 63) KL Rahul has been playing second fiddle, and now he’s in danger of falling silent altogether – his 39 has come off 64 balls, and when Shadab dishes up a full toss, he can only reverse-sweep it to the man at backward point. The last eight overs have gone for just 26, yet India are still in charge.
19th over: India 103-0 (Rahul 38, Sharma 62) Sarfaraz decides to stick rather than twist, and it goes well: only two off Imad’s over. The run-rate has slowed, but that won’t worry the Indians, who tend to start slowly anyway. Pakistan need three wickets in the next 20 minutes.
“Afternoon Tim.” Afternoon Venkat. “I’m writing from Bangalore, India, to tell you that I dread India-Pakistan matches. It’s all very well to talk about the noise and the atmosphere and the excitement. But it’s all backed by 70 plus years of religious tension, violence, bloodshed, jingoism, posturing, nuclear threats, mass migrations, war and the cynical political capital made out of all the above. I wish those watching – live or on TV – would make every effort to downplay the tension and use this match as a symbol of normalcy rather than rivalry. A forlorn hope. But despite my dread, I think I’ll try and follow the match :)” That is a great email.
18th over: India 100-0 (Rahul 37, Sharma 60) Rahul pushes Shadab comfortably into the covers to bring up the hundred partnership, something no Indian openers have managed before in six World Cup games against Pakistan. And India won all those matches. That’s drinks, and you don’t need me to tell you who’s on top.
17th over: India 99-0 (Rahul 36, Sharma 60) Five singles off Imad this time, plus a wide. Sarfaraz needs to do something fast, even if it means bringing on an elderly part-timer.
“I was in India in 2003,” says Philip Mallett, “when India beat Pakistan thanks largely to 98 from Tendulkar. For the next fortnight, every hotel I stayed in showed the whole game again on huge television screens, surrounded by jubilant Indians cheering every ball. Mind you, on the day of the match there were no waiters to be seen in the restaurants. It would have been a good day to carry out a bank robbery.”
16th over: India 93-0 (Rahul 33, Sharma 58) Sharma, after catching his breath, gets going again with a late cut for four off Shadab. That was so delicate as to be almost sadistic.
15th over: India 87-0 (Rahul 32, Sharma 53) Four singles off Imad.
“Warning,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “Put on a ‘Hit-Man’ bandana... I have been keeping a close eye on my personal favourite from the very start, Rohit ‘Double Ton Specialist’ Sharma... You should too!”
14th over: India 83-0 (Rahul 30, Sharma 51) Sarfaraz shoes some faith in Shadab, who repays it by restricting the batsmen to three singles. But still the best hope of a breakthrough seems to lie with a run-out. The batsmen are in more danger from themselves than from the bowlers.
13th over: India 80-0 (Rahul 28, Sharma 50) Imad restores order, conceding just a single. And the sun comes out! Manchester, you’ve surpassed yourself.
12th over: India 79-0 (Rahul 27, Sharma 50) Sarfaraz sees that turn and plumps for spin at both ends, but instantly regrets it. Shadab comes on and it all goes horribly wrong – a long-hop cut for four, a full-toss clipped for six. That’s 17 off the over and an excellent fifty for Sharma, from only 35 balls: the stuff of match-winners.
11th over: India 62-0 (Rahul 22, Sharma 38) Rahul attacks Imad, first delicately, with the finest of sweeps, then clumsily but effectively, with a mistimed chip over midwicket. There’s another sniff of a run-out as Shadab’s flying throw goes wide of the stumps with the batsman stranded. And in between, Imad gets one to straighten, sharply. It’s all happening, and we haven’t even seen Kohli yet.
10th over: India 53-0 (Rahul 14, Sharma 37) Wahab keeps it tight until the last ball, which is spanked wide of third man by Sharma, to celebrate his reprieve. And that’s a fine fifty partnership, nice and composed apart from the one rush of blood.
Of a run-out – Sharma went for a second, Rahul sent him back, all the man at midwicket had to do was throw to the keeper’s end, and he threw to the bowler’s end. That’s a shocker.
9th over: India 46-0 (Rahul 12, Sharma 32) Sarfaraz removes Amir, before Oxenford does, and decides it’s time for some spin. Imad Wasim starts with a wide but keps it tight thereafter. The score predictor is giving India 342, which could make for a very dull afternoon: in this World Cup, every team making 250 batting first has won.
“Morning Tim.” Morning Simon McMahon. “The atmosphere at Old Trafford looks and sounds electric, even on the telly. Reminds me a bit of the Cowdenbeath v Cove Rangers play off final second leg at Central Park a couple of seasons ago. The tension that day was off the scale.”
8th over: India 42-0 (Rahul 10, Sharma 31) Hassan had to go, so Sarfaraz sends for Wahab Riaz and it’s left-arm quicks at both ends. Sharma’s bonanza continues when Wahab tries a bouncer that just needs helping round the corner for four.
“Fantastic atmosphere at this game,” says Jonathan, “together with some top-level WHAT ARE YOU DOING with Amir running onto the pitch so often. But do you know why there are so many empty seats visible in some parts of the ground?” I don’t. At a guess, it could be the queues for security checks.
7th over: India 35-0 (Rahul 8, Sharma 26) Just a couple of quick singles and a bye off Amir. The day belongs to Rohit Sharma so far, just ahead of umpire Oxenford.
6th over: India 32-0 (Rahul 7, Sharma 25) Hassan drops too short and wide and Sharma tucks in, cutting with abandon, in the air but safely. And then he goes one better with a front-foot pull for the first six of the day. Hassan has gone for 26 already.
Meanwhile Bob O’Hara is picking up on the chat from the 1st over. “I think what Krishnamoorthy was trying to say is that #INDvPAK is almost as big as a Roses match.”
5th over: India 20-0 (Rahul 6, Sharma 14) Rahul takes on Amir’s bouncer and pulls it, handsomely, for four. Wasim Akram, on commentary, reckons that Amir’s front foot is landing too wide, reducing his ability to swing it back in. And now Amir gets a second warning from umpire Oxenford for running on the pink zone. One more and he’s off. But Amir still produces a slower ball, a cutter, that beats Rahul. His figures are impeccable: 3-1-6-0.
“Great that the game has at least started on time,” says Anand. “Nervous about India batting first in cloudy conditions. I do hope that Kohli’s decision to bat first in the warm-up against NZ was in preparation of a situation like this...”
4th over: India 16-0 (Rahul 2, Sharma 14) Hassan overpitches and Sharma plays the shot of the day, an effortless push for four to mid-off’s right. Hassan bounces back with a shorter ball that seams away and beats the bat.
3rd over: India 11-0 (Rahul 1, Sharma 10) Facing Amir, Sharma almost plays on as he tries a late leave. He’s standing outside his crease, Kohli-style, so Amir fires in a bouncer, too high to be dangerous. Amir is then warned for running on the middle of the pitch, although he only encroaches when he’s a long way down. “Bit harsh,” says Nasser Hussain.
“This is the Cavaliers vs the Roundheads,” reckons Risha Mohyeddin. “Bring it on!! Although we all know how that ended...”
2nd over: India 9-0 (Rahul 0, Sharma 9) Runs! Off the inside edge. Hassan Ali’s nip-backer defeats Rohit Sharma, but he manages a Harrow prod. When Hassan strays onto the pads, Sharma scores the first runs off the middle with an easy flick for two, followed by the same again for three. Hassan’s first over, like Amir’s, went from good to poor.
1st over: India 0-0 (Rahul 0, Sharma 0) Mohammad Amir takes centre stage and he’s learnt his lines, and lengths – first two balls in the channel, third one fuller and swinging back in. KL Rahul, watchful, blocks them all. The next three he can watch all the way into Sarfaraz’s gloves. Amir glanced up and thanked the gods of swing after the third ball, but went rather flat after that. Still, a maiden. The noise is unceasing – imagine what it’ll be liked when we have a run.
“Good morning Tim.” Good morning Krishnamoorthy. “You needed to have spent your formative years in the subcontinent to understand the nuances of an Ind-Pak match. A school-going kid in India will say Pakistan on being asked the opposite of India. That is how deep rooted the animosity is. The religious divide poisons it further as religion poisons everything it touches. It is bigger than El Clasico, North London Derby, Manchester Derby, Ashes, UCL final and London Marathon put together. There is no logic or rationale. To put it in context, my 80+ grandmom (who can’t tell a kookaburra from a baseball or a golf ball) says ”It does not matter if India loses all the matches but it must BEAT Pakistan (accompanied with a headmaster administering a spanking mime). The rest of the nation is not any better. By tonight V Kohli will be bigger than Imran and Tendulkar put together or his effigies will be burnt in front of his Delhi home.”
Never mind the weather, what about the climate? My colleague Tanya Aldred is at the game, with her campaigning hat on – do follow @TheNextText on Twitter. The word is there are no water jugs, just plastic bottles, plugging a sponsor. Come on ICC, you can do better than that.
And here’s an email from Aditi Prabhudesai. “Much hot air has been spewed forth over the perfidious English rain. With thousands of Indians and Pakistanis jetting in to watch today’s encounter, one would do well to consider other environmental issues. Climate change has the potential to disrupt cricket. I believe temperatures had touched 50C during the last Ashes. Then there’s air pollution which marred the Delhi Test played between India and Sri Lanka. There’s a good chance cricket would have to be moved indoors in the dystopian future. If and when a carbon tax is introduced, cricket audiences would be limited to locals and the well heeled. Rain, I think, would be the least of our concerns.”
1 India’s opening pair. They’re usually immense, but Shikhar Dhawan is out with a broken thumb – can KL Rahul step up? And can VJ Shankar fill Rahul’s shoes at No.4, or will India rue the day they left Rishabh Pant at home?
2 Kohli against left-arm quicks. He only averages 50 against them, according to a Sky stat box, so he becomes just about mortal. Memo to Mohammad Amir: aim for his heel.
India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 VJ Shankar, 5 MS Dhoni (wkt), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Kedar Jadhav, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt, wkt), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Hassan Ali, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Amir.
Sarfaraz Ahmed calls tails, it is, and he opts to bowl first, because of the forecast rain. Virat Kohli says he would have done the same.
Morning everyone and welcome to the World Cup match with the most superlatives around its neck. It’s the noisiest, niggliest, most intense, most watched game there can be, unless India and Pakistan meet again in the final, as they did two years ago, also on English turf.The last match I covered, England v West Indies 48 hours ago, was under-hyped. That’s not a problem today.
This is England, so we have to start by talking about the weather. According to the Met Office, there’s rain around but it’s not expected to be serious until lunchtime. We should get a game, albeit a truncated one.
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