India’s mantra was “take the bull by its horns” or “fight fire with fire.” These are cliché statements, but need to be implemented in the field of play. After the Indian top order had repeatedly failed against the Pakistani pace bowling attack, and in the shadow of the flop show in their previous clash at Pallekele, which was abandoned after India’s innings, the focus was on how Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would tackle the four-pronged pace attack, led by Shaheen Afridi and supported by Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Faheem Akhtar.

Faheem comes in

Thinking the Indian top order was suspect against their pace attack, the Pakistan team management not only included a fourth seamer in Faheem in place of left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz, but that also influenced their decision to bowl first. Despite it being bright and sunny when India batted, the fans waited with bated breath to see how the Indian openers would fare. Rohit made India’s intentions clear when he flicked the last ball of the opening over by Shaheen over square leg for a six. His partner, Gill, who usually is circumspect to begin with, was on the ball too, as he repeatedly played his patent semi-horizontal shot, which is half-cut, half-drive piercing the infield and picking up boundaries at will.