First ODI: Pak crash to defeat

Pak never really put up a fight. Barring the start and a brief period when Inzy and Hafeez were at the crease Pak never really looked in control of the run chase. It was certainly an attainable total provided the batsmen applied themselves because there was hardly anything in the pitch for the bowlers. Sachin bowled a clever line and Inzy’s wicket was a precious one. A fast ball that Inzy tried to work down to third man and missed brought down his right bail.

This victory will certainly help India regain some confidence. On paper India is a better Test team while Pak is the better one-day side. After the draw of the Test series Pak had the upper hand and might have just lost it a little bit. Pak have what it takes to recover as a one-day side despite this defeat, but the the psycological battle does play a big part. One more defeat can put Pak on the defensive.

India’s last 9 overs produced just 41 runs. Our batting order was walking in and out as though they had come to bless the bride and bridegroom at a mallu wedding in the intense kochi heat.

In the quest for his century Rahul Dravid slowed things down quite a bit. Another example (which is quitely overlooked by most critics) of a star puting self ahead of the team. In any case, this inability to accelerate just re-inforces a point that everyone knows, India lacks a big hitter in the lower half of its batting order and its long over due to experiment with a few new comers to fill in this role.