Conquering the conditions

India have now won 11 straight matches when they have batted second, but they will value this one more than most others for the manner and the conditions in which it was achieved. Unlike most games, when a flat track allows batsmen to plonk their front foot and drive through the line right from the start, this pitch assisted the fast bowlers. Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul seamed the ball both ways, and a good indication of just how tough the conditions were is the not-in-control factor: in the first 20 overs, the Indian batsmen were not in control of 30% of the deliveries they played (38 out of 126), while for Sachin Tendulkar alone, that stat was 36% (25 out of 69), much higher than you'd normally expect in a one-day international. Tendulkar rode through the tough period, allowing Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to dominate the attack and eventually clinch a convincing win.

The partnership that finally did the job for India was the 102-run blitz between Dhoni and Yuvraj. As the graphic below shows, it was clear who did the bulk of the damage - Dhoni scored 73% of the runs scored off the bat in the stand (there are four extras in the mix), while Yuvraj played second fiddle, content to take the singles and rotate the strike. Dhoni took most of the plaudits at the end, but Yuvraj's mature approach deserves a mention: in the partnership with Tendulkar, he scored a run-a-ball 52 to Tendulkar's 45 off 42. Yet, with the team requiring an anchor, Yuvraj played that role splendidly too, showing just how much he has grown as a batsman.

And though the numbers may not suggest it, there was method in Dhoni's madness. His wagon-wheel clearly indicates he backed himself to play certain kinds of strokes, but shut out the others. When the bowlers pitched it up, he mostly played with the full face of the ball, ensuring minimum risk. The runs in the square-leg region only came when the fast bowlers pitched it short, hoping they could cramp him for room. Instead, Dhoni unveiled some fierce pull shots, and the game ended in a hurry.