Shastri: A fantastic finish
September 14, 2007
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Ravi Shastri: "I think the most positive thing to come out for India of this game was Irfan Pathan. He was under extreme pressure, he was asked to bowl first-change, but he looked very relaxed" © Getty Images
Dileep Premachandaran: That must have been an enthralling game to call from the commentary box because right till the last ball you had no idea how it is going to finish up.
Ravi Shastri: It was a fantastic finish; it was a typical India and Pakistan game. When you see that one side had got it under wraps, they are totally in control and then something happens. Panic sets in, you lose a couple of wickets and the balance shifts, and that is exactly what happened. When [Shahid] Afridi got out, if anyone was there at the ground then they would have said that India are favourites to win it. Then, one over from [Ajit] Agarkar, 17 runs go off it and Pakistan were right back in it. I think, at the end of it all Pakistan would be disappointed, because tying the score, two balls to go and with your well-set batsman, who has gone past 50 batting, you would expect him to get the win for you. So India I think got out of the jail there, but full marks to them for keeping their nerves, in the end tying the game and then winning in the bowl-out.
DP: But quite an innings from Misbah-ul-Haq there, he wasn't very well known outside of Pakistan - he came in to replace Mohammad Yousuf and he just gave them a new lease of life at the end of that innings.
RS: What I liked best was his composure and his temperament in a tough situation. He didn't panic in spite of Afridi getting out. He still believed that if Pakistan had one or two good overs then they could push India right all the way down to the wire. So his temperament and composure is what impressed me the most.
DP: Defending what wasn't really a huge totally, India were quite impressive in the field, apart from the one drop catch there was lot of energy, a lot of aggression and some really good fielding and bowling there.
RS: That's exactly what happens when you have young legs on the field, this is the young side and you can already see the difference in the fielding from what you saw in England, and that does make a big difference when you are defending a moderate score. Having said that I thought India recovered well. [Robin] Uthappa's innings was special, because the conditions were tailor-made for the faster bowlers. If you got the ball in the right areas, there was enough movement of the deck to keep the batsmen quiet. It was one thing to just try and survive, but if you are looking to force the pace as well then you were bound to lose some wickets, and that's why even when India got 141 one thought that it was a competitive score.
DP: Uthappa and Irfan Pathan were both hugely impressive today, coming into this sort of pressure match - Irfan had not played for months, Uthappa replacing batsmen of calibre of [Sachin] Tendulkar and [Sourav] Ganguly in the side.
RS: I always believe that unless you give players chances, young players who you believe in, and stick by them, you are never going to improve or you are going to go forward, otherwise you are going to be stuck with the same players and suddenly when one of those players goes out of form then you have not groomed nobody.So I was very happy with the way Uthappa played. I think the most positive thing to come out for India of this game was Irfan Pathan. He was under extreme pressure, he was asked to bowl first-change, but he looked very relaxed and he looked very cool in a situation like this. He bowled a good line, a good length, he kept the ball up to the bat and we all know that he is very useful for India down the order - he tonked a couple of sixes as well. Just the ideal comeback you would be looking from someone who has been out of the game for a bit, who is still young and who still could be the allrounder that India is looking for.
DP: Ravi, coming to Pakistan, surely they need to reassess their batting order - Shahid Afridi coming in with just five overs left, that is surely not the best utilisation of their resources.
RS: Absolutely not, I think he should be batting no later than four or five in the batting order, it's a waste, and they have to rethink it. I think even someone like Shoaib Malik might think of coming up the order and taking the attack to the opposition. You want players like Afridi to get as many overs as possible.
DP: Finally, the Man of the Match, Mohammad Asif - how good is he? It was just like watching Glen McGrath out there at times.
RS: Mohammad Asif in conditions that suits the bowlers is handful. Because, he is accurate, he has got a wrist action, he hits the seam more often than not and he is someone who knows his bowling. He is confident about his bowling and he sticks to his strength. He is an intelligent bowler and in conditions that suit him, he can be a handful. His test will come in good batting conditions.
DP: You think these two teams have what it takes to go a long way in the tournament?
RS: Still early days. I think you would need them to play another good match for you to believe that they can go the distance. But having said that, in Twenty20 cricket you are bound to get upsets. If you have someone who fires on a particular day for you then you can upset any team
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AuthorTopic: 20/20 Matches Thread : SL vs Ken; Eng vs Aus; Ind vs Pak (Read 2550 times)
