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Bruised. Hurt. Embarrassed. It has been a woeful start to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup ambitions.
They have shocked the world with miserable shows against low-ranked sides in the past. Yet, despite all their idiosyncrasies, not many would have expected them to falter against the USA.
But, it happened.
Pakistan crumbled in Dallas. Crumbled so pitifully that it will be long before the debris is collected.
The defeat in the first of the four group-stage matches has made Pakistan’s second-round qualification chances bleak. It is, after all, very Pakistan-like to be on the verge of being knocked out in just one match into an important tournament.
Their next challenge is the toughest of them all — India in New York on Sunday. No sporting fixture in the world holds the imagination of the people of such magnitude as India vs Pakistan.
The shared bloodied history, the never-ending toxic struggle to embarrass each other on the world stage, and disgust-filled social media diatribes have made it into a must-win rivalry.
That USA is playing co-hosts to this iteration of the T20 World Cup underscores the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) long-coming realisation about the necessity to expand the game by tapping into world’s biggest sports market.
There could not have been a better host for the world’s biggest sporting rivalry than New York, the Big Apple, and this time; this contest has more outward significance attached to it. It is a tool to promote the game in a territory where cricket is still an insect.
For Pakistan, this fixture could not have come at a worse time. Their preparations for this tournament were haphazard. Their obsession with experimentation and rotation resulted in only five wins in 14 matches in the lead-up to the tournament and culminated in a maiden T20I defeat to an associate nation on Thursday.
India, on the other hand, is on the charge. They came into this tournament on the back of an Indian Premier League (IPL) that redefined the boundaries of what could be achieved in T20 cricket and dominated Ireland in their first match.
Since the turn of the decade India have won four of the six completed matches — across World Cups and Asia Cups — with their most recent win in Ahmedabad during last year’s 50-over World Cup.
Pakistan, already lacking form, will also be challenged by foreign Nassau County International Cricket Stadium conditions. Less than a day out of their match there, Pakistan are yet to visit cricket’s first modular cricket stadium. India have already played two matches — including a warm-up against Bangladesh — here.
The drop-in wickets, installed just before the tournament, have not bedded in and played heavily in favour of fast bowlers offering them exaggerated pace and seam movement and, at times, uneven bounce in the first two international matches. The outfield is heavier than usual grounds around the world because of the sand underneath it, making diving on it a dangerous proposition. Unsurprisingly, the first two matches have resulted in first innings scores of 77 and 96.
Pakistan will have the first idea of drop-in wickets less than 24 hours before the first ball when they train at the practice facility 20 minutes away from the stadium. They opted for rest on Friday.
Despite their lacklustre outing in Dallas, Pakistan’s fast bowlers will be a threat to India with their high release points on New York’s tricky surface.
In Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, have high pace and the ability to move the ball from on and off the surface.
Pakistan have dearly missed Imad Wasim’s tight lengths at The Oval and Grand Prairie Stadium. After all his brilliant control in the powerplay and middle-overs resulted in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) coaxing him out of retirement.
His return, subject to fitness, will provide much-needed depth to Pakistan’s bowling stocks, especially with Shadab Khan’s bowling form nosediving. Pakistan will consider swapping him with Azam Khan, whose average has fallen to 8.80 after a second consecutive duck in Dallas.
The bowling unit’s biggest challenge will be to curtail Virat Kohli’s presence at the crease. Elite athletes save their best for the biggest stage and Kohli’s outrageous batting returns have exhibited why he is one of the best to have ever played the game.
He averaged a mind-imploding 308 against Pakistan in T20 World Cups and has been player of the match in three of the four wins which turned out for India. His scores read 78 not out, 36 not out, 55 not out, 57 and 82 not out.
Pakistan finds itself amidst the chaos. But, Pakistan, over the years, has learnt to live with it. They have started their campaigns with absolute disasters and made thumping comebacks in the past. After the nightmare of Dallas, how perfectly would a win against India in New York encapsulate Pakistan’s mercurial nature?
That would be some redemption!