5 reasons why India dominated Pakistan for the sixth time in World Cup history

Pakistan may have to wait another four years to correct their World Cup record against India.

The much-hyped battle between India and Pakistan ended with India stretching their unbeaten streak against Pakistan in World Cups to six-nil. It was a day that saw India outperform Pakistan in virtually every department in the opening Pool B fixture. Amit Banerjee lists five reasons why India won the crucial battle.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 fixture between India and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday was one of the most discussed matches in a long time. One got the feeling that the excitement of the match sometimes exceeded that of the tournament itself, with firecracker of a game becoming the topic of hundreds of articles, panel discussions and social media trends. Full Scorecard: Pakistan vs India

The match finally took place amidst a plenty of fanfare, with the crowd mostly comprising of Indian supporters. The Indian top-order finally performed when their team needed them the most, with the likes of Virat Kohli (107), Suresh Raina (74) and Shikhar Dhawan (73) guiding India to 300 for seven.

Pakistan, in reply, lost the wicket of Younis Khan early in their innings. They were never in the game after the dismissal of Ahmed Shehzad, following which a series of dismissals led to Pakistan crumbling to a total of 224 in 47 overs. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS

Following are the five reasons why India won a World Cup game against Pakistan for the sixth time in a row:

Virat Kohli’s century: Kohli is undoubtedly India’s leading light in the batting department at the moment. With comparisons with legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar growing with each passing day, a lot was expected from the dashing Delhi batsman, who struck four centuries during the recently-concluded India-Australia Test series. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE

Kohli managed to fulfil the expectations of fans and selectors as he struck a match-defining 107 off 126 deliveries. The knock was the backbone of the Indian innings, which ended on a score of 300 for seven at the end of 50 overs.

Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina deliver on the big stage: Dhawan and Raina have been off-colour of late, making it crucial for the two to deliver in a crunch match such as that against Pakistan. The pair managed to do exactly that, with Raina and Dhawan scoring 74 and 73 respectively, forming key partnerships with and providing vital support to Kohli during the Indian innings.

Poor Pakistan fielding: The Pakistan team is not known particularly for its fielding abilities, and their performance against India on Sunday did not help change the notion. Kohli was dropped twice during his innings, which was reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar’s 2011 World Cup semi-final knock. There were also a few goof-ups and wasteful fielding as Pakistan missed out on several vital dismissals and gave away a few extra runs in the process.

Pakistan Batsmen fail to hold innings together: Pakistan got off to a disappointing start when Younis Khan was dismissed for six, with a mere 11 runs on the board. The duo of Shehzad and Sohail tried to build a solid partnership for the second wicket, before the latter departed for 36. It was Shehzad’s dismissal for 47 that triggered the Pakistan collapse, from 102 for two to 154 for seven. Misbah-ul-Haq fought hard till the last breath, falling for 76 off 84 balls.

Pakistan’s psychological defeat: Pakistan needed a lot more than just in-form batsmen and bowlers to win the high-voltage contest against India. A major chunk of the battle is psychological, in which India held the clear advantage due to their unbeaten record in World Cups. It was a point raised by many former Pakistani cricketers, including the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, etc. It is also one of the major reasons why a superb side such as South Africa is yet to win a knockout match in a World Cup.

Pakistan needed a lot of mental strength and conditioning ahead of the match, and should have held their nerve, even as wickets were falling in a bunch. They unfortunately May have to wait for another four years to correct their World Cup record against India, unless the two sides meet again in this edition of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) flagship tournament.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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