Hardik Pandya knows he is a tough cat. Sometimes he also lets people know about it. He hit the winning six, accepted Dinesh Karthik's arc, looked towards the dressing room and signaled that the phone was ringing. Shahnawaz Dahani did the same after taking the wicket, although there may be no connection between the two here. As it happens, Dani was one of the first players he met after the festivities, and the two share a sweet moment. Smiley and animated smiley.
But the coolest moment came after the third score of the final. He just moved the leg stump outside to try to hit it with an edge but couldn't beat the inside. Then he looked at Karthik, closed his eyes, nodded - that's how Indians say "it's fine, oh, it's fine, nothing to worry about".
On the next ball, he smashed the ball over the wide long-on boundary. Ravindra Jadeja, who played a screeching door knocker, was also full of praise for Pandya. “He was very clear when he came to bat.
He said I will play my ball no matter what. As for India's other batsmen, Rohit Sharma's poor form has been somewhat overlooked amid the rumblings of Virat Kohli's shaky ground. Captain India worked hard in the middle today. Rohit stuck around, shaved Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf a couple of times, tried to lift Shahnawaz Dahani awkwardly and misplaced Mohammad Nawaz down the leg side, falling between the two fielders.
When he was released, he hit 6 off 15 balls, more than the 6 long balls against Nawaz. It turned out to be a false dawn as Rohit departed a few balls later, the victim of an errant shot from the left-arm spinner. 12 off 18 balls in the opener. He has now scored just two-and-a-half centuries in his last 11 internationals.
Bhuvi, the coolest
A high-pressure game between India and Pakistan could make for a tight game. This assumption does not apply to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He's been there, seen it all. Ten years ago, he played for the first time against Pakistan in an ODI. It was a streak and he got the early wicket. Bhuvi's new ball is so good that Dhoni sometimes gives him 8 or 9 overs. The T20I debut also features the same opponent - Pakistan. Now 32, he's special, which makes it the coolest thing ever. He is known for his swing and changed his plans today. He caught Babar with the one that stepped on him and he pulled it the wrong way.
Shorts are nice for India
In the India-Pakistan match, if the fast bowling made an impact, the conventional wisdom was that it was by hitting the yorkie or moving laterally to test both ends of the bat. Short pitch is not a word that is often used in these games, especially in Asia. But even India's bowling line-up, which is missing Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, is too hot for Pakistan's batsmen. Avesh Khan is known to be short but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and rookie Arshdeep Singh are not the fastest. However, they both had great success throwing the ball around in a surprisingly responsive Dubai Stadium.
One wonders whether this exposed the technical shortcomings of Pakistan's batsmen, known for their cavalier approach to the format, or whether they simply hadn't thought of this attacking pattern.
Their level of batting reveals a sense of desperation, as if a ball on the helmet or ribs should not be part of the T20 syllabus. Attempts to catch, pull and cut are rare and they seem confused when the ball is directed towards their body. Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal have praised the corrections players, but the Pacers are doing all the damage. The left-arm spinner allowed the surface to grip, turn and bounce, but when he gave the ball some air, Pakistan tried to target long leg.