Kohli & Amir

M S Dhoni dispatched a short and wide delivery to the fence, gently dislodged the bails and pulled a stump out of an uncharacteristically green and bouncy Mirpur wicket. There were no wild celebrations, just a few hugs and handshakes. The rest of the Indian team marched into the ground led by the Man of the Match Virat Kohli and shook hands with the Pakistanis. There was no acrimony, no visible tension. The atmosphere was relaxed. Smiles, occasional affectionate pats and, I am sure, friendly words were exchanged. But no interaction was longer or warmer than that between Kohli and Mohammed Amir, the two undisputed heroes of the match. The two gave each other a brief hug and quite clearly congratulated each other on their respective performances.

Earlier in the evening, thanks to a disciplined bowling and fielding display (with some help from the Pakistani batsmen of course), India had bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 84. With the pitch offering considerable assistance to the faster bowlers no one expected the Indian chase to be smooth sailing against a Pakistan bowling unit comprising of Mohammed Amir,  Wahab Riaz, Mohammed Irfan and Mohammed Sami that was formidable to say the least. Pakistan needed a good start to stay alive in the game and they got onecourtesy Mohammed Amir. Amir’s first over was simply astonishing. After a stunning first delivery on the off stump which bamboozled even the television viewers, he produced a gorgeous in-swinger to send Rohit Sharma to the dugout and, in the same over, dismissed Ajinkya Rahane with another one that swung in sharply. In the three overs that followed, he produced an exhibition of fast bowling of such magnificence that I am certain he won many hearts here in India. Out of the 25 balls he bowled, nearly two thirds must have been wicket-taking deliveries. His breathtaking spell made one wonder what international cricket had missed in the last five years.

Virat Kohli batted like Virat Kohli. After few nervous moments, especially a close LBW shout that must have stopped many an Indian heart, he batted with such ease and assurance that it made one doubt whether it was the same pitch where the rest of the batsmen had laboured on. With three wickets down for less than 20 runs and Yuvraj struggling to meet bat with ball, Kohli singlehandedly pulled India out of trouble with his trademark authoritative style of batting. By the time he was given out LBW, India were less than ten runs short. But he won my heart today, not with his batting (which was thoroughly enjoyable), but with the spirit he displayed after the match. In the post-match interview with Ramiz Raja, he showered heaps of praise on Amir and even said that he had congratulated Amir while he was batting. He further went on to answer questions in a manner that was both mature and clear. His fearlessness and his ‘no half-measures’ attitude, both on and off the field makes him the best Indian batsman of the 21^st century. Die hard Tendulkar fans may not agree with me but Kohli is probably a better batsman and definitely a better sportsperson than Tendulkar. I have never heard Tendulkar, who always tried to be the ideal ‘patriot’, praise a Pakistani player in a post-match interview and remember, he played against people like Wasim Akram , Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq. Even while answering questions about the match Kohli is as clear as Tendulkar was vague. “Our plan was to stay on the wicket…” Tendulkar would say, explaining his grand strategy. Just today Kohli, in very few words told Ramiz Raja how batsmen on this tricky pitch would have been better off steering deliveries outside the line of the off stump down to third man rather than trying to drive.

Overall, it was a decent India-Pakistan game, played in good spirit. There were some exceptional performances- Amir with the ball, Kohli with the bat and Ravindra Jadeja in the field. But the moment of the match was definitely that Kohli-Amir hug. It made my day.  

(For the scorecard of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup group stage tie played in Dhaka on 27^th February 2016; http://www.espncricinfo.com/asia-cup-2015-16/engine/match/966751.html)