BIRMINGHAM: Indian cricket is at different level than Pakistan. This was amply proved at Edgbaston on Sunday with the defending Champions Trophy winners punishing their opponents by 124 on Duck-worth Lewis method runs to open their account.

The Indian Premier League has lifted their cricket to new heights which was amply exhibited in all three departments today.

In contrast Pakistan faltered in all three, unable to stop the flow of runs in the slog overs, dropped two crucial catches, two of their bowlers fell unfit and finally were lackluster in batting.

This makes 12th loss in 16 international matches and the mis-match doused the fire of an Indo-Pak match.

Pakistan would always like to bowl first against India as they would not want them to chase — their strong point — and for that Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and opted to bat. Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim conceded just 46 in the first ten power-play overs.

The first of two rain interruptions did hurt Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan’s momentum. It took a full toss by Shadab Khan to dismiss Dhawan, 68 off 65 balls, and a risky single to have Sharma on a well played 91 — his best against Pakistan.

But the real impetus to the innings was provided by Virat Kohli (81 not out off 68 balls with three sixes and six fours) and Yuvraj Singh (32-ball 53 with 8x4s and a six) as both added 93 off just 59 balls.

But both were indebted to Pakistan fielders, Yuvraj dropped on eight by Hasan Ali off Shadab while Kohli was let off on 43 by substitute Fahim Ashraf off Wahab Riaz. Both punished bowlers in the slog overs, scoring 72 in the last four overs.

Hardik Pandya smashed three sixes in Imad Wasim’s last over of the innings.

Riaz’s selection was erroneous as he was not fully fit three days before the match. He looked out of sorts, conceding 11 boundaries and two sixes. Finally he and Mohammad Amir both suffered cramps, surprisingly in the relatively cooler 14-16 degree temperature.

Sarfraz not bowling Mohammad Hafeez was also strange for the reason that Hafeez could have troubled left-handed Dhawan.

Pakistan’s best chance was on Duck-worth Lewis, needing to reach 103 without loss in the 20 overs which constituted a match.

Rain did come but for a short while, revising the target from 324 in 48 to 289 in 41. It proved beyond their reach with Indian seamers Unesh Yadav (3-30), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-23), Hardik Pandya (2-43) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-48) bowled superbly to contain Pakistan to 164.

None of the Pakistani batsmen looked like hitting the ball as hard as the Indians did. Azhar Ali did show some guts in his uncharacteristically fast 60-ball 50 with six boundaries.

Shoaib Malik looked like smashing the ball, hitting the only six of the innings before misjudging a single and was run out. Mohammad Hafeez made a laborious 43-ball 33 but never looked a match winners.

So Pakistan are left to play South Africa in a must win game, also at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

Pakistan squad

Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C, WK), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali

India squad

RG Sharma, S Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(MK), KM Jadhav, HH Pandya, RA Jadeja, B Kumar, UT Yadav,JJ Bumrah

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Pakistan Batting

Over 33.4 (164/9): Umesh Yadav

Hasan Ali: 0 (2)

Mohammad Amir: 9 (16)

Shadab Khan: 14 (16)

Over 33 (162/7): Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammad Amir: 7 (14)

Shadab Khan: 14 (16)

Over 32 (159/7): Umesh Yadav

Mohammad Amir: 5 (11)

Shadab Khan: 13 (13)

Over 31 (154/7): Ravindra Jadeja

Mohammad Amir: 2 (8)

Shadab Khan: 12 (10)

Over 30 (152/7): Hardik Pandya

Mohammad Amir: 1 (3)

Shadab Khan: 11 (9)

Sarfraz Ahmed: 15 (16)

Over 29 (146/6): Ravindra Jadeja

Sarfraz Ahmed: 11 (13)

Shadab Khan: 11 (9)

Over 28 (136/6): Hardik Pandya

Sarfraz Ahmed: 11 (13)

Shadab Khan: 1 (3)

Imad Wasim: 0 (1)

Over 27 (134/5): Ravindra Jadeja

Sarfraz Ahmed: 10 (11)

Imad Wasim: 0 (0)

Mohammad Hafeez: 33 (43)

Over 26 (131/4): Hardik Pandya

Mohammad Hafeez: 33 (40)

Sarfraz Ahmed: 7 (8)

Over 25 (123/4): Ravindra Jadeja

Mohammad Hafeez: 27 (36)

Sarfraz Ahmed: 6 (6)

Over 24 (117/4): Umesh Yadav

Mohammad Hafeez: 26 (35)

Sarfraz Ahmed: 1 (1)

Shoaib Malik: 15 (9)

Over 23 (113/3): Ravindra Jadeja

Mohammad Hafeez: 23 (31)

Shoaib Malik: 15 (8)

Over 22 (102/3): Hardik Pandya

Mohammad Hafeez: 18 (28)

Shoaib Malik: 9 (5)

Over 21 (91/3): Ravindra Jadeja

Mohammad Hafeez: 16 (26)

Shoaib Malik: 0 (1)

Azhar Ali: 50 (65)

Over 20 (88/2): Hardik Pandya

Azhar Ali: 49 (62)

Mohammad Hafeez: 14 (24)

Over 19 (87/2): Ravindra Jadeja

Azhar Ali: 49 (62)

Mohammad Hafeez: 13 (18)

Over 18 (82/2): Hardik Pandya

Azhar Ali: 49 (58)

Mohammad Hafeez: 8 (16)

Over 17 (79/2): Ravindra Jadeja

Azhar Ali: 48 (56)

Mohammad Hafeez: 6 (12)

Over 16 (76/2): Hardik Pandya

Azhar Ali: 47 (52)

Mohammad Hafeez: 4 (10)

Over 15 (67/2): Umesh Yadav

Azhar Ali: 41 (49)

Mohammad Hafeez: 2 (7)

Over 14 (64/2): Hardik Pandya

Azhar Ali: 40 (46)

Mohammad Hafeez: 0 (4)

Over 13 (61/2): Umesh Yadav

Azhar Ali: 37 (40)

Mohammad Hafeez: 0 (4)

Babar Azam: 8 (12)

Over 12 (57/1): Jasprit Bumrah

Azhar Ali: 37 (40)

Babar Azam: 4 (10)

Over 11 (51/1): Umesh Yadav

Azhar Ali: 36 (38)

Babar Azam: 0 (6)

Over 10 (51/1): Jasprit Bumrah

Azhar Ali: 36 (38)

Babar Azam: 0 (0)

Over 9 (47/1): Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Azhar Ali: 32 (32)

Ahmed Shehzad: 12 (22)

Over 8 (38/0): Jasprit Bumrah

Azhar Ali: 24 (28)

Ahmed Shehzad: 11 (20)

Over 7 (32/0): Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Azhar Ali: 19 (26)

Ahmed Shehzad: 10 (16)

Over 6 (27/0): Jasprit Bumrah

Azhar Ali: 16 (22)

Ahmed Shehzad: 8 (14)

Over 5 (22/0): Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Azhar Ali: 12 (18)

Ahmed Shehzad: 8 (12)

Over 4 (21/0): Umesh Yadav

Azhar Ali: 12 (16)

Ahmed Shehzad: 7 (8)

Over 3 (15/0): Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Azhar Ali: 7 (11)

Ahmed Shehzad: 6 (7)

Over 2 (10/0): Umesh Yadav

Azhar Ali: 3 (8)

Ahmed Shehzad: 5 (4)

Over 1 (4/0): Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Azhar Ali: 2 (6)

Ahmed Shehzad: 0 (0)

 

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India Batting

(48.0) India 319/3: India finished strong, Yuvraj and Kohli ripped Pakistan’s bowling at the end, Hardik Pandya provided the finishing.

(45.0) India 264/2: India have caught up the run rate, clean hitting from Yuvraj Singh.

(44.0) India 247/2: Amir goes went off the field limping, Wahab Riaz bowled the rest of his over and almost got Virat Kohli.

(43.0) India 242/2: Yuvraj goes big in the over, Hasan Ali conceded 12 runs in the over.

(42.0) India 230/2: A good over by Amir except a boundary by Yuvraj Singh.

(41.0) India 222/2: Yuvraj Singh is living dangerously, just got away from a deadly yorker of Hasan Ali.

(40.0) India 213/2: Wahab Riaz leaking runs and destroying the pressure created by other bowlers.

(39.0) India 206/2: Hasan Ali dropped a dolly of Yuvraj Singh off Shadab’s bowling, it can be very costly.

(38.0) India 202/2: India bring their 2002 with 9 overs to go.

(37.0) India 194/2: Yuvraj Singh is the new man in.

(36.4.0) India 192/2: Breakthrough for Pakistan, Rohit Sharma is run out after scoring 91 off 117 balls. Kohli was looking for a quick single, but Sharma fell short.

(36.0) India 189/1: Wahab Riaz continues to be expansive as he concedes 13 runs in the over.

Over 45 (264/2): Hasan Ali

Yuvraj Singh: 48 (28)

Virat Kohli: 52 (59)

Over 44 (247/2): Wahab Riaz

Yuvraj Singh: 39 (25)

Virat Kohli: 44 (56)

Over 43 (242/2): Hasan Ali

Yuvraj Singh: 37 (23)

Virat Kohli: 42 (52)

Over 42 (230/2): Mohammad Amir

Yuvraj Singh: 26 (19)

Virat Kohli: 41 (50)

Over 41 (222/2): Hasan Ali

Yuvraj Singh: 20 (16)

Virat Kohli: 39 (47)

Over 40 (213/2): Wahab Riaz

Yuvraj Singh: 15 (14)

Virat Kohli: 35 (43)

Over 39 (206/2): Shadab Khan

Yuvraj Singh: 9 (9)

Virat Kohli: 34 (42)

Over 38 (202/2): Wahab Riaz

Yuvraj Singh: 7 (5)

Virat Kohli: 32 (40)

Over 37 (194/2): Shadab Khan

Yuvraj Singh: 1 (1)

Rohit Sharma: 91 (119)

Virat Kohli: 30 (38)

Over 36 (189/1): Wahab Riaz

Rohit Sharma: 89 (117)

Virat Kohli: 28 (35)

Over 35 (176/1): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 77 (112)

Virat Kohli: 27 (34)

Over 34 (174/1): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 77 (112)

Virat Kohli: 25 (28)

Over 33 (173/1): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 77 (108)

Virat Kohli: 24 (26)

Over 32 (171/1): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 76 (104)

Virat Kohli: 23 (24)

Over 31 (163/1): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 74 (101)

Virat Kohli: 17 (21)

Over 30 (162/1): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 74 (98)

Virat Kohli: 16 (18)

Over 29 (161/1): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 74 (94)

Virat Kohli: 15 (16)

Over 28 (157/1): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 72 (91)

Virat Kohli: 13 (13)

Over 27 (147/1): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 70 (89)

Virat Kohli: 5 (9)

Over 26 (141/1): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 67 (86)

Virat Kohli: 2 (6)

Over 25 (138/1): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 65 (84)

Virat Kohli: 1 (2)

Shikhar Dhawan: 68 (65)

Over 24 (135/0): Shoaib Malik

Rohit Sharma: 63 (82)

Shikhar Dhawan: 68 (63)

Over 23 (129/0): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 62 (80)

Shikhar Dhawan: 63 (59)

Over 22 (125/0): Shoaib Malik

Rohit Sharma: 60 (78)

Shikhar Dhawan: 61 (55)

Over 21 (120/0): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 57 (75)

Shikhar Dhawan: 59 (52)

Over 20 (110/0): Wahab Riaz

Rohit Sharma: 55 (72)

Shikhar Dhawan: 51 (49)

Over 19 (95/0): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 55 (72)

Shikhar Dhawan: 36 (43)

Over 18 (87/0): Wahab Riaz

Rohit Sharma: 47 (66)

Shikhar Dhawan: 36 (43)

Over 17 (84/0): Shadab Khan

Rohit Sharma: 45 (62)

Shikhar Dhawan: 35 (41)

Over 16 (79/0): Wahab Riaz

Rohit Sharma: 42 (58)

Shikhar Dhawan: 33 (39)

Over 15 (66/0): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 36 (55)

Shikhar Dhawan: 27 (36)

Over 14 (62/0): Wahab Riaz

Rohit Sharma: 33 (50)

Shikhar Dhawan: 26 (35)

Over 13 (59/0): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 31 (45)

Shikhar Dhawan: 25 (34)

Over 12 (55/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 30 (43)

Shikhar Dhawan: 23 (30)

Over 11 (52/0): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 29 (39)

Shikhar Dhawan: 21 (28)

Over 10 (46/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 25 (35)

Shikhar Dhawan: 20 (25)

Over 9 (37/0): Hasan Ali

Rohit Sharma: 24 (32)

Shikhar Dhawan: 12 (22)

Over 8 (32/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 20 (29)

Shikhar Dhawan: 11 (19)

Over 7 (27/0): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 19 (26)

Shikhar Dhawan: 7 (16)

Over 6 (21/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 14 (22)

Shikhar Dhawan: 6 (14)

Over 5 (15/0): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 9 (20)

Shikhar Dhawan: 5 (10)

Over 4 (9/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 4 (15)

Shikhar Dhawan: 4 (9)

Over 3 (5/0): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 2 (12)

Shikhar Dhawan: 2 (6)

Over 2 (3/0): Imad Wasim

Rohit Sharma: 0 (6)

Shikhar Dhawan: 2 (6)

Over 1 (0/0): Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma: 0 (6)

Shikhar Dhawan: 0 (0)