Mandhana goes inside-out to unravel Pakistan's perfect start

On the scorecard, it will be marked as 64 runs - the massive margin that separated India and Pakistan on the World Cup Sunday, played in front of a record audience. For most parts of the match, the gulf wasn't as wide. In fact, for the first nine overs, Pakistan had the upper hand.

To reduce a 37-over game to one solitary moment - especially when there were several individual feats of brilliance, might seem a bit of a stretch, and probably unfair. But the moment Mandhana asserted her intent against Rubab, panic set in and Pakistan started second-guessing their plans and field-sets.

Till then, they had rationed their run-leak with discipline. Taking advantage of the long boundary on one side, the bowlers kept varying their pace, and pushed the onus on the Indian batters to manufacture the big shots. On the big field, there were plenty of runs for the taking, but sixes were bound to be tough. Beyond skill, stamina, power and speed were all up to be tested.

After the early dismissals of Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur treaded with caution. Given the precarious situation the team was in, she refused to take the bait. However, in the attempt to pierce gaps on the field, there wasn't much coming her way either. By the end of the ninth over, India were still cantering at run-a-ball.

From their perspective, the approach was becoming unsustainable and required interruption. Someone had to unsettle the bowlers and push them on the backfoot - so Mandhana took that charge upon herself.

The one mercy that came her way was when Aliya Riaz, in the eighth over, failed to position herself well while attempting to take a rather simple catch running backwards. Mandhana made good use of the opportunity. The invitations by Pakistan's spin trio - Nashra Sandhu, Rameen Shamim and Sadia Iqbal - to swing in her natural arc towards the deeper boundary on the legside were declined. The Indian southpaw instead stuck to her strengths, making room and lofting them inside-out.

Attempts to hit over the ropes did not always yield results; some bounced before the boundary line, and one was parried over for a six by Saira Jabeen. In a matter of those three overs, India picked up 39 runs and completely flipped the momentum of the contest.

This slip up by Pakistan wasn't a one-off - it's a pattern which has repeated several times when they've found themselves in rare positions of dominance. Allowing one small phase of rebuilding by the opposition has way too often completely thrown them off their plans, in a way that they rarely find their way back.

Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan head coach, suggested just as much when asked to shed light on the animated chat he had with the players during the drinks break following Mandhana's counter-attack in the early half of the middle overs. "In a Pakistan-India game, you have to keep your calm and you don't have to do anything out of the box," Riaz said. "After the powerplay, the way the Indian batters batted, it happens. One-odd partnership does take place in T20 cricket. It (the message) was just to keep things simple and bowl according to the plans."

As soon as Riaz left the field, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali and Sadia Iqbal joined in a quick conference. Sana - one of the better fielders in the side - stationed herself at long on, and urged Shamim to continue tempting Mandhana to hit against the turn. Instead, Mandhana took the challenge again, made more room for herself and hit another inside-out shot over cover for a boundary.

The captain, this time, knew what had to be sharpened. She asked the spinner to pull her length back a bit, and Mandhana - by then, unable to hold back her swing - eventually walked into the trap. She stepped out, but in an attempt to clear long on, failed to connect well and ended up offering Sana a comfortable catch.

At 109 for 3 in the 14th over, after the fall of the left-hander, Pakistan still had a chance to claw back. They did that for a brief while with a few quick dismissals, but Richa Ghosh put on a death-hitting masterclass yet again to power India to 170 for 6.

On paper, it was a stiff target. But even as Riaz confessed that it was 20-odd more than they should have restricted India to, he was confident that the team could chase it down if they stuck to their plans. However, the plans, even with the bat, couldn't hold its shape the moment India threatened to claw back.

In the powerplay, Muneeba, Gull Feroza and Ayesha Zafar showed every sign of being up to the task - piercing the gaps, playing over the in-field, and willing to take the extra run but cautious not to risk a wicket. At the end of the Powerplay, at 52 for 1, Pakistan had promised to make the match more interesting. And then, old habits resurfaced and a familiar story unfolded. Zafar's well-timed sweep was lapped up by Mandhana at short fine leg, and Pakistan's momentum completely fizzled away, in ways too familiar for them.

For India, despite several standout individual performances, it wasn't the perfect game, yet it showcased their tenacity and smartness to wriggle out of a challenging position. For Pakistan, even though it was a massive loss, they would do well to know they competed as the better side for at least 15 out of 40 overs. Unfortunately, later in the tournament when the Net Run Rate comes to matter, the 64-run margin won't look the other way.

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