The outcome of the Pakistan - England game at the Eden Gardens on Saturday had ceased to matter even before a ball was bowled. Pakistan’s only chance of making the World Cup semifinals was to bat first and win by 287 runs. The moment the coin flipped in England’s favour, and Jos Buttler chose to bat, it was curtains.
The tie did not prosper as a contest either. England scored 337 for nine on the slow, abrasive surface as Ben Stokes, in what was perhaps his final ODI innings, made the 37,666-strong holiday audience bounce by scripting a fine 84 (76b, 11x4, 2x6). Pakistan fell woefully short, losing by 93 runs, as England sealed Champions Trophy qualification.
When Babar Azam was batting, Pakistan looked very much in the hunt. But once the skipper fell in the 14th over after a sweet 38 (45b, 6x4), it all fizzled out. The middle-order collapse against Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali was particularly glaring. Once a land of great spinners and spin-playing batters, present-day Pakistan is neither.
It has been evident in the way its tweakers have bowled all tournament. At the Eden, it manifested in the way Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan fell — charging down the track mindlessly, sweeping thoughtlessly and failing completely in picking straighter deliveries and googlies.
The afternoon’s proceedings, though, were in stark contrast as Stokes and Joe Root (60, 72b, 4x4) took centre-stage with a 132-run partnership for the third wicket, building on a 82-run stand for the opening wicket between Jonny Bairstow (59, 61b, 7x4, 1x6) and Dawid Malan (31, 39b, 5x4).
Stokes was the more expressive batter, capitalising fully on an early let off by Shaheen Afridi, who grassed a simple caught-and-bowled chance. The 32-year-old smashed the left-armer straight down, past mid-on, over mid-wicket and beyond point in a span of two overs to send him out of the attack. Then came the hoick over mid-wicket off Mohammad Wasim Jr. and the falling reverse-sweep off Agha Salman, his stand-out shots.
At one point, Root seemed so bored at the other end that he tried his own reverse ramp. But classical batsmanship is his forte and he showcased that with back-to-back fours to the square fence.
Afridi did have Stokes’ measure, uprooting his off-stump with a ball that swung back. But breezy knocks from Jos Buttler (27, 18b, 3x4, 1x6) and Harry Brook (30, 17b, 2x4, 2x6) swelled England’s total.
Pakistan’s below-par fielding stuck out. Nothing it did really worked. It was a match that was emblematic of its World Cup campaign.
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