Axar Patel press conference: “We see them as a team, we don’t see a rivalry” after India beat Pakistan
But what happened next was just a repeat of the vestiges of a rivalry that once held the cricketing world in awe.They ran into Ishan Kishan, who probably wasn’t at the top of their planning charts. When India won the Asia Cup six months ago, the left-hander was nowhere near T20 World Cup selection.Syed Mushtaq Ali’s superb trophy for Jharkhand and Shubman Gill’s loss to T20 form led to the 27-year-old’s call-up and today he is the toast of the nation.Premadasa’s pitch was super slow, the ball didn’t get to the bat, but what Ishan did in a period of 46 balls, of which he faced 39, left India on very strong ground.Later in the evening, the Indian bowlers had too much quality and when Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya took 13/3 in the first three overs, it was all but over.After Bumrah’s burst of pace and accuracy, it was Axar Patel’s spell of 2-29 that killed the game. What should give India even more satisfaction is the fact that their spin duo Varun and Kuldeep Yadav didn’t even have to complete their spells to wrap this up by 61 runs.But this game will be remembered for the way Kishan (77 off 40) batted. He took on pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and hit him for several sixes in the second over. And then there was his attack on the spinners. Like Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan didn’t know where to go with Ishan as he held his shape and generated huge power with his cutting, pulling and sweeping shots.The first six overs went for 52, which was well above par on this pitch.Pakistan captain Agha made the mistake of not introducing his trump card Usman Tariq early and Ishan continued to create havoc. There was zero fear in his approach as the shots flew off his bat.It was the all-rounder Saim Ayub who eventually removed him with a delivery that rushed just a bit. It was after Ishan’s dismissal that you could see the demons lying on the field.None of the other batsmen could continue on a consistent basis and Ayub and Tariq took over from the 10th over. With his box of tricks, Tariq kept Surya and Tilak Verma in check as the boundaries dried up.However, to Surya’s credit, he didn’t try to look for non-existent big shots. Instead, during his 29-ball 32, he kept the board ticking, knowing that 175 would be over par.Tilak and Hardik Pandya were dismissed off consecutive balls by Ayub in the 15th over, but India still had too much depth in the tank.Surya and Dube were still waiting for the right bowlers to take the plunge – in this case Abrar and Afridi – who returned for their second spells. Agha’s next mistake was to try these two later in the innings.