Klassen shows his class, Pakistan outclassed

The World Cup has finally got what we have all been crying for, the nail biter. After a slew of one-sided affairs that reignited the debate on the relevance of this format all over social media, the match between Pakistan and South Africa gave a glimpse to what this format is all about – the adrenaline, bravura needed for a T20 game and the skill and patience for a test match. ODI in all its glory is a concocted mix of all the good facets of this game. All it needs is a good sporting pitch which is what we got at Chennai and South Africa made of meal of it eventually after almost making a mockery in the chase.

For a large part of the game, the chase transported us to the ghosts of the past from this very ground. In 1999, one man’s hope carried the dreams of millions in India until he painstakingly fell 17 runs shy of the target set by Pakistan. That knock continues to remain in the folklore of Sachin and Chepauk. In the 2011 World Cup, South Africa, chasing 172, were cruising at 125-3 which is when they started pressing the C-button and fell 7 short. Both matches witnessed the knowledgeable crowd of Chennai cheering and applauding good cricket even if it was from the opposition. This match was another example of how sporting the crowd was, is and will continue to be. Meanwhile, the past week has had some match-winning impact performances amidst the predictable results. These are the top three in my opinion:

Heinrich Klaasen – 109 off 69 balls, versus England

There is an air of subtlety and humility about this man but nothing about his cricket seems to suggest that. Klaasen brought up his first world cup hundred against the defending champions in the most unforgiving conditions at the Wankhede. The heat was almost ghastly through the afternoon. England players would later go on to say that it felt like they were eating the air out there. In comes Klassen, the spin bashing machine, and he went hammer and tongs to get to his hundred. By the time he got there, he almost squatted in exasperation as much as it was exhilaration.

How lucky are SA to have him out there doing wonders especially after he went through a dark phase at the outset of Covid. He could not cycle for more than few minutes without his heart rate spiking up. But he has put all of that behind him and how. He is now probably the most destructive middle order batter going around. The crowd going ballistic when he walked out to the ground at Chepauk against SA is testimony to his increasing fanfare.

Rohit Sharma – 46 off 40 balls, versus New Zealand

We saw Rohit Sharma donning the hat of an opener in 2013. He became an ODI monster with big daddy hundreds thereon. The template to his batting was to get his eye in and go big gradually. Somewhere around last year, he changed that template to become this aggressive power hitter from the word go. This happened as soon as he became the captain and along with the coach, India wanted to prove a point especially in the T20 World cup last year.

Even though India did not go all the way, the strategy to change his game which is almost selfless is reaping rewards in this World Cup. He almost flawlessly got India off to a flier in Dharamsala against NZ in the first 10 overs and that has been the story throughout. What this does to the rest of the batters is it brings the run rate down in chases rapidly and calms the nerves for everyone so they could bide their time and play risk-free cricket.

Virat Kohli’s success in this edition is a direct outcome of this Rohit Sharma onslaught in the power play. It takes a lot for a player who is well into his 30s to adapt a new style of play and stick to it obsessively even if it comes with pitfalls of getting out against the run of play.

The Afghan force vs Pakistan

Afghanistan have been the perennial underdogs coming into the tournament. They were expected to cause an upset or two. They did cause one earlier against England. Now we have the second and this is of seismic proportion, for they went about their business as if it was a walk on the park with a clear method to the madness. They hardly looked like the underdogs here. It was firstly a masterstroke to select four spinners but that was always going to be their strong suit.

They surprised the connoisseurs with their spotless chase kicked off by the awesome Gurbaz and Zadran, finished up well by the technically sound Rahmat and their tenacious captain at the helm. They served up cricketing shots and smartly maneuvered the field always keeping score ticking. A lot of their uprising has to do with their IPL experience and their coach acknowledged the same later on. Will this be the rise and rise of a new force in limited overs cricket?