Pakistan had their best batting day, India their worst bowling and fielding day. Yet, the win was straightforward ©AFP
Perhaps nothing summed up the night better than Sahibzada Farhan's dismissal. He was well set, past his half-century and had already taken on Jasprit Bumrah with rare success; only two batters have ever scored more against him in T20Is. At 90/2 at the halfway mark, Pakistan were flying.
And then came the moment. Shivam Dube, hitting the deck with the slower ball he has been working on with Morne Morkel, and making Farhan reach out with his wide line. The shot was miscued, the bat flew out of his hands, and he was caught at cover.
The dismissal told two stories.
One, of Pakistan's intent. They had been bruised by their 127/9 in the previous meeting and this was their answer: swing hard, play brave, push India. Fakhar Zaman swung hard too before a close call for caught-behind went in India's favour. Saim Ayub broke out of his rut of zeroes with 21 off 17. Hussain Talat was promoted to keep the left-right combination intact. And Salman Ali Agha, who had averaged four against spin in this Asia Cup, demoted. Pakistan were hell bent on attacking, and for ten overs, it worked.
The other story was how India recovered. Dube's two wickets in 11 balls after the drinks break changed the rhythm. India bowled it slower, bowled it wider, kept Pakistan reaching and reaching until the mistakes came.
It wasn't a perfect night for India. Nowhere close. They dropped four catches, their most in a T20I in three years. Abhishek Sharma shelled two, both straightforward, while Kuldeep Yadav and Shubman Gill put down one each. Bumrah finished wicketless, leaking 45 off his four overs. Varun Chakaravarthy, so often the chokehold, also went wicketless for the first time in 12 T20Is, not helped by the drops off his bowling.
And yet, Pakistan's 171 felt about par, not beyond. That is the gap. Even when India's best were blunted, others filled the spaces. Axar Patel, who turned up with a neck patch after hurting himself while fielding in Abu Dhabi, and barely bowled in warm-ups, ended up delivering just one over. Hardik Pandya didn't even need to bowl four overs. And Dube, who has bowled out his full quota of overs only three times in 39 T20Is, stepped up on a much flatter pitch than last time and returned figures of 2 for 33, most of his deliveries banged on back-of-length.
"According to me, Shivam Dube's spell was a turning point for the game," Suryakumar Yadav said.
"I think he has been working really hard on his bowling in all the practice sessions. And this was the perfect game where he got an opportunity. He always wanted to bowl a minimum two overs and today he got to bowl his quota of all the overs. So he was very happy. And the way he delivered, I think he had very clear plans. And that's what I want from the boys and that makes my job easier."
The gulf looked even wider in the chase. Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, friends since under-12s, opened with a stand worth 105. It wasn't their first hundred together, and won't be their last, but it was a partnership that turned the match into a canter. Gill threaded cover-drives and even reverse-swept. Abhishek smashed the first ball out
