History repeats for Afridi, Pakistan

Eden Gardens was raucous. 

Over 60,000 fans were jubilant, unable to comprehend what was unfolding in front of their eyes. 

And that was just as the pre-match ceremony, as Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were felicitated along with three Pakistani legends. 

The characters might change but, when Pakistan meet India in ICC world events, the story remains the same. 

They lose. 

This was the 11th time the two countries have faced each other in marquee events – six times in the 50-over World Cup; five times in the World Twenty20 – and Pakistan have lost the lot.

They took a significant step towards losing this game when Shahid Afridi called incorrectly at the toss. 

After incessant rain had given the pitch some moisture, and the match had been truncated to 18 overs apiece, it was tricky to gauge what a good score was. 

As Ravi Ashwin got a number of deliveries to spin up viciously, it became clear that, just as in India’s last match in Nagpur, this was a wicket that would offer significant assistance to the spinners. 

It showed that, even before Afridi lost the toss, Pakistan had already made their first mistake. 

They had dropped Imad Wasim, their left-arm spinner, and so Afridi was deprived of his second best spinner.

When the game begun, Pakistan’s openers confronted a huge challenge. 

Yet they were too anaemic in their approach, adding just 38 in 7.4 overs – that is, five runs an over in an 18 over-a-side match. 

This was not a wicket overly conducive to scoring boundaries. 

Yet at least as big a problem for Pakistan was their failure to accumulate by stealth. 

Their difficulties working the ball around are encapsulated by a tally of 49 dot balls from their innings. 

The problems rapidly became self-perpetuating: each dot left Pakistan further behind where they hoped to be, and made they more inclined to attempt a big shot to make up the deficit. 

India allowed Pakistan to bowl 10 fewer dot balls which goes far towards explaining how they won with 13 balls to spare.

The struggles of Pakistan’s openers led Afridi to promote himself up the order to number three. 

On one level this was an attacking, proactive step, a man who knew he needed to impose himself on the game taking the challenge upon himself. 

But, as a cursory glance at Afridi’s T20I statistics – he averages less than 20 with the bat – reveals, the balance of probability was always that it would failure. 

Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s two most comfortable players in the game, were left to face only 16 balls each. 

And Afridi did not even succeed in failing quickly: he took up 14 balls, seemingly trying to smite every one out the ground, and ended up with only eight runs.

With the ball in hand Pakistan promised much early on. 

In the fifth over India were 3-23, and memories of that ignominious collapse against New Zealand in Nagpur doubtlessly resurfacing. 

But Afridi was made to suffer for the absence of another spin, especially as his own bowling was so uninspiring. 

His 24 deliveries included eight half volleys, according to CricViz, and the upshot was that India were able to accumulate with far more ease than Pakistan. 

For much of the innings Afridi retained a slip, showing a recognition that Pakistan had to be proactive if they were to have a chance of restricting India. 

All of which makes the handling of Mohammad Amir rather perplexing. 

Having taken 1-3 in his first two overs, Amir had to wait until the 14th over of the innings to return. 

By then it was far too late.

In the event Amir did not even bowl out, which is perplexing. 

One explanation is that, when he was taken off for the second time India needed just another 13 runs from three overs, emphasising the mistake in not bringing him back into the attack earlier. 

Yet Afridi’s decision to bowl Mohammad Irfan showed a curious disregard for the need to protect Pakistan’s strong net run rate.

So tight is this group shaping up that net run rate is likely to determine at least one semi-final berth. 

In this context every ball by which a defeat is delayed is a boon, but Boom-Boom seemed to put up the white flag and meekly accept defeat when he hauled off Pakistan’s best bowler.

As Indian fans celebrated into the early hours of the morning, tooting horns of cars and riding motorbikes draped in the tricolours, Pakistan were left to reflect on these mistakes. 

What they mean is simple: 11 games, and 11 losses, against India in world events, and the need to win both their two remaining games, against New Zealand and then Australia, to reach the semi-finals.