Virat Kohli’s batting masterclass on a pitch made lively and spiteful by rain enabled India to extend its amazing unbeaten run against Pakistan in World Cup events to 11.
Virat Kohli’s batting masterclass on a pitch made lively and spiteful by rain enabled India to extend its amazing unbeaten run against Pakistan in World Cup events to 11. The young man has built a fierce reputation as a batsman who is best under pressure, of which there is always a lot in India-Pakistan cricketing encounters. And beyond the regular stress of a high-profile engagement was the challenge of chasing runs on a difficult pitch, that calls for extreme ability of a cricketer to focus only on the next ball. Kohli’s runs against tricky T20 targets have come at a phenomenal average, a fraction above 83, while his overall T20 average of 53.55 is highest among current cricketers. Saturday night’s Eden Gardens innings was the difference between two sides locked in a do-or-die battle.
Temperamental differences between excitable Pakistanis and emotionally stabler Indians were once again evident in another defeat in head-to-head World Cup events. Pakistan once won a World Cup (1992) despite losing to India in league encounters before knockouts. But when playing India, Pakistanis seem to psyche themselves into an unbearably tense state. India, under greater pressure ahead of the Eden match after early defeat by the Kiwis, and being tournament favourite had to win to stay in the race for a semi-final slot. But it was still Team India that played practical cricket of the more orthodox kind, suggesting a more balanced emotional intelligence quotient. India’s domination of Pakistan in World Cups is 24 years old, a remarkable sporting saga of collective achievement.
