The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Smriti, spinners give India big win over SA
Bengaluru: Smritimandhana'sresolute hundred and a disciplined bowling effort,ledbyspinnersdeeptisharmaand Asha Sobhana, piloted India to a huge 143-run win over South Africa in the firstwomen'sodihereonsunday.india now lead the three-match series 1-0, and the second game will be played here on June 19. Mandhana's sixth ODI century (117, 127 balls, 12x4s, 1x6) formed the fulcrum of India's competitive 265 for eight on a sluggish Chinnaswamy pitch. Then the Indian bowlersworkedtheirmagicaroundthe South African batters to bowl out the visitors for 122 as debutante leg-spinnerasha(4/21)ledtheshowwithafrugal spell and was well-supported by offie Deepti (2/10).
BRIEF SCORES: India W 265-8 in 50 overs (Smriti M 117, Deepti S 37, Pooja V 31*; Ayabonga K 3-47) bt South Africa 122 all out in 37.4 overs (Sune L 33; Asha S 4-21) by 143 runs
AS PAKISTAN quickly went about decimating Ireland with their pacers meaning business, it felt more like sombre violin music playing in the background even as the Titanic sank. Like the giant ship that plummeted into the Atlantic, Pakistan have hit such depths at this T20 World Cup that things could only go up.
But midway through their chase of 107 on Sunday, at 62/6, new lows were in sight before captain Babar Azam, who kept getting castigatedforhisslowapproach,playedacharacteristic knock, dropping anchor to oversee a stormy period and take the team home.
Thethree-wicketwinatlauderhill,florida, inthisinconsequentialfixture,saideverything aboutpakistanintheshortestformat.theyarrived at the World Cup counting on their core players’experienceofplayinginthecaribbean Premier League, which was supposed to give them an edge. But Pakistan are now headed back home, without even getting a chance to set foot on the Caribbean islands.
It was curtains down on a forgettable campaign, which would apprise head coach Gary Kirsten about the magnitude of the challenge that lies ahead of him. They no more face the risk of falling behind the pack. They have already done so, as even Ireland showed them the mirror.
Unlike most successful T20 teams who assemble a star cast of batsmen and include a couple of X-factors in the bowling unit to seek a cutting edge, Pakistan have traditionally skinnedtheircatinadifferentway.withbowling being their stronger suit, they have built theircorearoundthem.itiswhattookpakistan to successive T20 World Cup finals in 2007 & 2009 and even in 2021. Even in the US, where bowlers have had the upper hand, it was very much their template.
When Shaheen Shah Afridi moves the ball both ways like he did in the first spell on
Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi (left) and Imad Wasim picked 3 wickets each to restrict Ireland to just 106.
Sundayinflorida-whichfinallygottowitness some action after three successive washouts – and the rest of his attack compliments him, Pakistan can roll over most sides. It has never been their issue.
Likeinnewyork,theconditionswereagain loaded in favour of bowlers. More so because the pitch had been under covers, which broughtseammovementintoplay.andafridi, one of the most lethal new-ball bowlers, exploited it to the hilt. An in-swinger got him the first wicket off the third ball before one that shaped the other way brought his second two
deliverieslater.henearlyhadathirdinthefirst over before DRS came to the rescue of Harry Tector.
Left is right
At the other end, another left-arm seamer, Mohammad Amir unleashed his own magic. Unlikeafridi,hedidn’tuseseammovementto get wickets. Amir’s under-appreciated skillset has been his deceptiveness, especially when he varies his length and pace to outfox batsmen. He got rid of Paul Sterling and George Dockrell by setting them up with seamers before
the sucker-punch.
Sterling,afterbeingtroubledbymovement, tried to charge Amir, only for the pacer to drag the length back a bit and take the edge on the way to the 'keeper. For Dockrell, well aware that he would be trying to make full use of the last over before Powerplay, Amir kept him guessing by altering his length before sending in the slower one as the all-rounder offered a simple return catch. By the end of the Powerplay, the match was very much in Pakistan’s bag as Ireland’s struggles with the bat continued.
But as has been the case in this T20 World Cup, useful contributions from the lower order are turning into gold as Gareth Delany (31) and Josh Little (22 n.o) played cameos to lift Irelandto106/9. Afterthepacersdidtheirpart, itwasleft-armspinnerimadwasim(4-0-8-3) who ensured Ireland didn't make a full recovery. But from 32/6, getting 106 itself was commendable and something for Irish bowlers to work with.
Pakistan’s batting line-up showed there is plenty of soul-searching to do in this format. Skipper Babar continued to bat at No 3, and as hewentaboutscoringatastrikerateinthe90s, it posed questions of its own. His effectiveness in this format has been a contentious topic in Pakistan. However, if not for Babar’s grinding knock, this could have well been a World Cup campaign ending with another humiliation.
They repeated the same mistakes they committed against India, by choking themselvesinthemiddleoversinsteadoftakingfull control. Given India’s attack, it seemed understandable yet debatable. But against Ireland it was perplexing.
From 40/2 at the end of the Powerplay, in thenextfiveovers,pakistanscoredonly22runs and lost four wickets, thanks to some belowpar batting. The intent that one associates in T20sisclearlymissing.at62/6,italldepended on Babar to see them through, which he did with Abbas Afridi and Shaheen lending him support.
Unlike their bowling unit, their batting unit seldom instils fear among opposition ranks. It is the reason why teams go out on the attack against them, with one wicket fully capable of bringing two or three more. It is what Ireland got here, until they ran short of answers.
BRIEF SCORES: Ireland 106/9 in 20 overs (Garethdelaney31,joshlittle22notout;imad Wasim 3/8, Shaheen Afridi 3/22, Mohammad Amir 2/11) lost to Pakistan 111/7 in 18.5 overs (Babarazam32notout;barrymccarthy3/15) by 3 wickets