Pakistan blow hot and cold in the ask for the thoroughgoing

The back injuries, the form dips, and the T20I captaincy fiasco behind him, Shaheen Afridi had reverted to type. The skiddy pace and late inswing marked a comeback in the second half of PSL 2025 and the dismissals of Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rehman in the league game against Afghanistan bore testimony of his returning powers. While Afridi’s primary skill wasn’t exactly the show-stealer in the Asia Cup fixture versus India, he breathed life into an exanimate Pakistan innings with a six-studded cameo and saved precious runs in the field. Suryakumar Yadav’s ballistic sweep was intercepted by a full-length dive to his left at long leg and Tilak Varma decided not to challenge his rocket arm as the danger end beckoned him on the brace. He tried his level best to support his team in other capacities on an off-day with the ball, but given the quality of cricket India are playing at the moment anything less than a complete, all-round performance just won’t pass muster. Pakistan’s, on the big night, was a far cry.

It was a bonafide sporting track accounting for each department. The ball swung over two degrees for Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, the most for a team in the first four overs in this edition. An early introduction into the attack, Saim Ayub got his carrom ball to spin so prodigiously that Shubman Gill was dragged out of his crease in an attempt to smother the turn. Sahibzada Farhan could trust the pace and bounce of the deck when a jailbreak shot was the need of the hour, even if it meant taking on Bumrah as Pakistan trembled under the weight of another opening failure. While different cogs in India’s wheel revolved to near-perfection, revving up the machinery to function at its optimal, their neighbours turned up in splits to an encounter seeking sustained brilliance.

Spin was at the heart of this incongruence. Both the teams went unchanged for the buzzy clash, keeping their second-in-line quick on the bench in favour of an extra tweaker. Once Pakistan were reduced to 6/2, the stage was set for the Indian spin trivandrum to go about their asphyxiating business. Their grouping was tighter at the stumps as compared to their arch-rivals who copped three boundaries from the bat of Suryakumar Yadav square on the off-side, although on one occasion the hat ought to be tipped to his dexterous wristwork. Facing Mohammad Nawaz, he cut a ball headed towards the off-stump and beat sweeper cover to his left. Thanks to his fifty partnership with Tilak India controlled the tempo of the game expertly, fetching 70/1 in the middle phase in contrast to Pakistan’s 41/4 as smooth strike rotation was coupled with the ability of the right-left combo to convert the boundary ball. After 15 overs, Pakistan’s dot-ball percentage read 56, underpinning their struggle in grasping the variations as well as the subtle changes in pace.

With the desperation for a move-on growing manifold Axar Patel knew Fakhar Zaman would fancy the match-up, so he bowled quicker and flatter into the surface. The southpaw, out of his box with a nefarious glint in his eye, was outwitted by the trajectory as his decision to go through with the shot ended up in a skier. Tilak charged in from long-on to settle underneath, one out of the six catches India took to restrict Pakistan to 127/9. Axar contributed figures of 2/18, with Salman Agha proving his second victim, unaware that the slog sweep is an ill-advised option against a 1.82m tall fellow whose positive wingspan makes his release point similar to that of Kyle Jamieson.

India had done their homework. 2021 onwards, Fakhar averages 13 coming down the track to spinners with eight dismissals – the second most for a batter from a Full Member side behind Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Agha was made to hit against the turn towards the larger square boundary, and the ambition to explore mid-wicket spelt doom for opener Farhan too. He had been the lone ranger for Pakistan, his three sixes keeping their hopes alive as India chipped away at the opposite end. Suryakumar had sneaked in an over from Abhishek Sharma at the halfway mark with Pakistan catching their breath due to Axar’s twin strikes, but India follow the universally-preferred template of backloading the speedsters and hence Kuldeep Yadav was entrusted with the 17th. He had conceded just 11 runs in his three overs up until that point, although a well-set batter with the license to explode had the wherewithal to raze his economy. The air was heavy with tension despite India’s favourable position because a slip-up here could give Pakistan the ideal launchpad to maximise the final three and reach a respectable score. It was a delicate juncture in the context of the hitherto lopsided affair, and there was no room whatsoever for sighters on Kuldeep’s part.

He measured up to the expectations, bowling the googly full and wide, away from the swinging arc of Farhan who reached out for the almighty heave anyway, since it was not an occasion to dabble with considered choices. The contact was frail as a dragonfly’s wing as Kuldeep outwitted the dangerman. Upon receiving the Player of the Match award, he was asked by Sanjay Manjrekar how he manages to land the ball in the right spot straightaway given wristspinners tend to begin proceedings on a wayward note in general. ‘’First ball is always a wicket-taking ball, just have to go with that mindset and execute that wicket-taking ball. Batter may be set but he’s facing me for the first time,’’ Kuldeep answered, establishing that he looks to prey on the uncertainty that a batter experiences at the very beginning of his over.

If anything, the confusion piles up with each passing delivery, evident from his numbers against Pakistan across formats – 18 wickets for 228 runs in 7 innings. For the under-pressure batting unit there was no respite either, as mystery man Varun Chakravarthy unfurled his tricks in tandem. The Indian spinners bowled 45 dots between them, combining for 6/65 in 13 overs. The chokehold provided their pacers some cushion on a surface that allowed for through-the-line strokeplay, best exemplified by Abhishek’s gorgeous loft over cover off Afridi. It was also a reflection of the changing times, for the left-arm spearhead was once an object of dread in the Indian camp. The younger generation is bold and fearless, impervious to reputation. After all, head coach Mike Hesson hailed Mohammad Nawaz as the “best spinner in the world.” He went for nine an over and dropped a simple return chance. There was a gulf between the promise and performance, and an even bigger one between India and Pakistan.