There was a big clamour for the Indian top order to come good against the Pakistani pace attack and they haven't just come good, they have exploded and how!..
Monday's reserve day was India's day with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul smashing the Pakistani bowlers all around the park and racking up big hundreds in the process thereby nullifying their effect.
The 233-run third-wicket partnership between Kohli and Rahul was everything that the might of Indian batting is all about.
The wicket was not easy to bat early on and Pakistan didn't bowl too badly either but the genius of Kohli and the flamboyance of Rahul was all it took to keep the Pakistanis at bay.
They dealt with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan with the same severity and disdain and punished the rest of the bowlers at regular intervals too.
It's not often that we see Afridi getting hit for a six off the very first over of an ODI and that's exactly what happened when Rohit Sharma slammed him for a six.
The fact that he finished his quota of 10 overs leaking 79 runs with an economy of 7.90 tells us the story. It was a match of complete domination by the Indian top four.
Rahul, making a comeback, didn't spare any of the bowlers either as he slowly built his innings and then his strike rate went north as he blasted 12 boundaries and a couple of sixes in his knock of 111.
Kohli was at his imperious best against Afridi and Co as he showed little discomfort in depositing the ball to various corners of the ground. The former India skipper's strike rate of 129.78 clearly showing the pace at which he was racking up all the runs enroute his innings of 122.
Rohit-Gill established the base
Rohit's six off the last ball of the first over of the Indian innings was a landmark moment as it blew the cover off the Pakistani pace attack.
The six that was directed towards the backward square leg area with a flick off the pads by the elegant Sharma had a telling effect on Afridi.
The shot was the beginning of the Indian batsmen including Shubman Gill imposing themselves on the famed and potent Pakistani pacers. Afridi went for tonnes of runs on Sunday and so did the likes of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, who were also dealt with quite sensibly by the Indian batsmen.
Ever since the 2021 T20 World Cup loss to Pakistan in Dubai, there was a psychological stranglehold that the Pakistani pacers had over the Indian top order.
The likes of Afridi, Rauf and Shah had their tails up when running through the Indian batting line-up as ferociously as they did in Dubai.
In competitive cricket at this level, with all the video footage that is available at the disposal of the players, it is not that difficult to crack a bowler's tricks especially for heavyweights like Rohit, Gill and Kohli.
But the Pakistanis were going great guns and only Kohli's iconic innings at the 2022 T20 World Cup at the MCG where he lofted Rauf for two famous sixes was the exception.
Now, the top four comprising Rohit, Gill, Kohli and Rahul have all come good with 50 plus scores making it a match where India have broken the shackles of the Pakistani attack.
The Pakistani media, former players like Shoaib Akhtar and even the former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had infamously tweeted saying 'They cannot play him' with a photo of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
The 121-run opening partnership between Rohit and Gill followed by the humongous 233-run stand between Kohli and Rahul smashed the halo the Pakistani pacers were being seen through by their own media and even the Indian media.
Top-order batting critical
India is long known to be a team that thrives when its top order fires on all cylinders and when they have a collapse, the team's trajectory goes south.
The 2011 World Champions were looking at a total in excess of 300 when Rohit and Gill got out and Kohli and Rahul ensured that they consolidated the situation to the hilt taking India's total to 356.
With this match, India have successfully ensured that they have stamped their authority over Pakistan's bowling attack and especially their pacers.
