For a match with so much hype, the India-Pakistan fixture proved to be a damp squib with the Indian team walking all over their neighbours, never giving them any hope in the match.
Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to field first, but the Indian bowlers restricted Pakistan to 237. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma made light work of the chase as their 210-run stand for the opening partnership sent Pakistan on an almighty leather hunt.
The victory was set up by the bowlers, and the slower bowlers in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav sucked out all momentum away from Pakistan in the middle overs. He also said that the regular pool of bowlers has been a big positive for India in the recent past.
'Confidence shown by the management is important'
"Even in England, the way our bowlers have dominated, it shows the regular flow of spinners and medium pacers in the team. Also, the confidence showed by the management, that is important for a youngster. There is no negativity, you can concentrate on your bowling," Chahal said after the match.
There was bound to be pressure on the bowlers against Pakistan but the leggie said that he did not feel any pressure and he approached the game like any normal fixture.
"You hope to play Pakistan one day but when we played them, it didn't feel that we were playing Pakistan, it seemed it's our own team only. When you go to the ground, it doesn't matter if you are playing Pakistan or England. It is all about being mentally strong and how much pressure you can deal with," he said.
Chahal, who started the slide for Pakistan by getting rid of Imam-ul-Haq in the 9th over, said that he has always felt confident about bowling in the powerplay and was confident of getting the job done when Rohit tossed the ball to him.
"I have played with Kuldeep more. I discussed with Jaddu bhai if I should slower the pace of my deliveries in this wicket, so all three of us discussed and planned accordingly," he said.
