SL thriller good wake-up call for India before Asia Cup final vs Pakistan: Gavaskar

India Today

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar, while speaking to India Today, said that playing a high-intensity thriller against Sri Lanka just a day before the Asia Cup final against Pakistan could serve as a valuable wake-up call for India. The Men in Blue will face their arch-rivals in what promises to be a high-stakes encounter.

Transcript

00:00Joining us live on our program is a cricket analyst, a legend of Indian cricket,

00:05Sunny Gavaskar. Thank you so much for speaking to us here at India today, helping us build up

00:10to that big final. Let's, before I, you know, get into the specifics of India, Pakistan,

00:15let's talk about the game that finished here last evening. You were there at the ground,

00:19so was I. What did you make of that close encounter where Sri Lanka almost gave India

00:25a scare? How does that impact India's final? Do you see it as a wake-up call ahead of that big final?

00:34It is, it is. But it is a good wake-up call in the sense that they were stretched right

00:38down to the wire, which is what you need on the eve of the big day, the big final. So yes, I think

00:45it was, it was good, good wake-up call. And to have woken up with that and to emerge victorious

00:52actually tells you how strong this Indian team is and what good temperament that they have.

00:58Mr. Gavaskar there also putting that on record that this was the wake-up call that probably India

01:04needed. But anyway, if I was to give it a positive twist, sometimes because you've not really been

01:10tested throughout this tournament, because India have been so good, they've really never come into

01:15a tough situation. This game was the first time that they had to face that tough situation.

01:20So the other way of looking at it is, if you believe in law of averages, that one bad day that

01:25you had to encounter, the one day where that team that you were playing against was to put you under

01:30a stern test, that's happened for India. So it's better to have that a day before the final than

01:35on the day of the final, isn't it? Yes, I think a tough day having come before the final is a good

01:41thing. But it wasn't a bad day. It was a tough day, very tough day, a hard day at the office.

01:47But they came through it by keeping their temperament in the last few overs when they were

01:51defending the total. The last over could have been a little bit better if Archit had bowled more

01:56slower deliveries rather than the pacey deliveries. But that said, apart from that, I think the way they

02:03came back, despite the battering that Kusal Parera and Nisanka gave them, just speaks volumes of

02:08this team's temperament. Okay, Mr. Gavaskar says that wasn't quite a bad day for India. And if you

02:15take a look at this Indian team, they've been performing, as many would say, only at their 80%,

02:22they're operating at 80% and yet have been unconquered throughout this edition of the Asia Cup.

02:29Now, Saibai, while we take a look at the on-field aspects, which we also discussed in detail,

02:34let's take a look at the off-field aspect as well. You can't ignore the fact that the build-up

02:39has been stormy, to say the least. Many things have been said. So many controversies around that

02:46India-Pakistan encounter from even before the start of this tournament. How do you think that

02:52will play out in the game? And I want you to answer specifically from India's point of view,

02:57can those controversies distract the Indian?

03:04Maybe if there is a controversy about a certain player, maybe, you know, it might distract him a

03:09little bit. But once you step onto the field, you forget everything. That is what good teams and

03:15good players do. And so I don't really see too much of a problem with that. What also happens is that

03:21the others in the team will form a protective circle around the person who could be in a bit

03:27of hot water. And so I don't see too much of an issue with that. Once you step onto the field,

03:33everything is forgotten. You just focus on the bat and the ball.

03:36The other thing, Saibai, that's happening, Simon Taylor, is that ICC hearing, you know,

03:41players from both camps have been called up by the match referee. He's spoken to them

03:45because of certain gestures that were made on the ground, certain things that were said on the

03:50ground. We saw the last encounter was quite heated up between the two teams, a word spoken here and

03:56there. Do you think that can happen this time around as well? Do you think players can play,

04:02you know, within the realms of what is allowed on the field? Or do you think tempers can spill over?

04:10Well, every India-Pakistan game, whether it's a final or it's a first round,

04:14there will always be a little bit of a skirmish, if I might use that word, a little bit of,

04:20you know, fireworks. That is to be expected because both teams, you know, play very hard.

04:26Both teams do not give each other even a millimeter. So clearly, I think, you know,

04:31when two teams are going hard at each other, there is bound to be, you know, some sparks,

04:36there's bound to be some fireworks. Hopefully, it doesn't turn into anything ugly.

04:41I don't know if you really saw that report that we had a bit earlier on the program talking about

04:47the slight marginally better record of Pakistan in multilateral finals compared to India.

04:54And one of those finals that has been invoked on social media, especially from the Pakistan side

04:59at the moment, is that 2017 Champions Trophy final. I was there at the ground, so were you.

05:05That was a major upset as well. Once again, you know, India dominated that tournament,

05:10but to falter on that final hurdle. How do you think India should guard against

05:15to ensure that that does not happen this time around?

05:19Well, in a T20 game, anything can happen. But this is one way of a team which has been hammered,

05:28hammered is the only word, twice, looking to lift its confidence. And, you know,

05:34their supporters looking to lift the confidence and the morale of their team. So that is what this

05:40is. Don't forget that what happened in 2017 was a 50-overs game. This is a 20-overs game.

05:49Okay, Saiber, let's take a look at some of the specifics for the Indian team. The last game

05:54that they played versus Sri Lanka, they experimented a bit. And that's the trend that we've seen with

05:59this Indian team. They did that versus Oman as well. So every time there was an inconsequential game,

06:04we've seen the Indian team experiment. Yet, when you take a look at that 11, in terms of consistency,

06:10there's been that one name that comes to your mind, Abhishek Sharma. He's now has had seven

06:16consecutive scores of 30-plus in T20. That's a record that was earlier held by Rohit Sharma. He's

06:22tied that. That's, of course, a positive way of looking at things. The other side of that story is

06:29what happens on the day that Abhishek Sharma does not fire? Does the rest of the Indian batting order

06:36inspire confidence? Can they or do they have enough firepower to win a final in case it's an off day

06:42for an Abhishek? There are others. There's Surya Kumar, the other who's due a lot of runs.

06:49There's Tilak Verma, there's Sanju Samson, there's Ardik Pandya, you name it. There's Shubman Gill.

06:54Shubman Gill has batted well, but hasn't really got the big runs that we've come to see

06:59from his bat in the recent times. So there's plenty of batting to come. So I wouldn't be overly

07:05worried. Also, I think Abhishek Sharma is not going to let it go easy. He's been in good form three

07:12half centuries. He knows that he could have got maybe two centuries over there. One was an

07:18unfortunate run out, of course. He could have got two centuries. So he won't give up either. He, I mean,

07:24he would want to get another half century, maybe even a three-figure innings.

07:27I really like Mr. Gavaskar's take on this one. He's saying, why is it that we have to assume

07:32that Abhishek will not fire in the final? He has been firing throughout the tournament and it's just

07:37another game that he has to extend his good form. Good chances of that, of course, happening as he's

07:43been batting in this entire tournament. And then he also points out the rest of the batters. The good

07:48thing for India, Tilak has now gotten some runs. Sanju Samson showed you in that last encounter that he

07:53can do well. A bit of a cameo there by Aksar Patel, too, in this tournament. Surakumar Yadav

07:58has had a dry run, but had a good knock at the start of the tournament. So somewhere in different

08:03situation, some type or the other, there has been an Indian batter that has stepped up and probably

08:08that is what you can expect in the final as well. So this is what is really working for India.

08:14These are the advantages that India carries in that final.

08:16Saibai, let's talk about, you know, those concerns that we alluded to in our report a

08:21short while ago. Surakumar Yadav, he had that 150 at the start of the tournament. After that,

08:28it has looked a bit scratchy. I mean, you know, a captain and he is one of the best T20 batters

08:33going around. His form, how crucial will it be in the final? And if you had to give him an

08:37advice on the eve of the final, what would that be?

08:41No, not really. He is a class player. We all know that. All I would say is that, you know,

08:48if he should give himself maybe three or four deliveries out in the middle to get a sense of

08:55what's happening. Is there any pace, bounce? Is there any turn? Because watching it from the dugout

09:01and then going on to the field sometimes can be two different things. If the batter's ahead of

09:06you are batting so well, you tend to think there's nothing in the pitch. But it's better

09:11that you go there and, you know, get yourself those two or three deliveries to see and then,

09:16you know, play your natural game.

09:20Okay, Surakumar Yadav is, as Mr. Gavaskar is saying, he just needs to, you know, bide his time,

09:25spend some time in the middle and then slowly and steadily he is going to come good. As you

09:31have seen with the rest of the team as well, the batters have been performing. But Sahi Bhai,

09:35the other thing, and this has been, though consistency is always a good word in cricket,

09:40but here the word consistency does not really portray a very positive image and that is India's

09:46fielding or the poor fielding rather, which has been consistently bad now for three matches.

09:52Initially, it was just the drop catches, but the last game, even the ground fielding wasn't up to

09:57scratch. How does India really, you know, ensure that that doesn't happen come the final day?

10:04Yes, it is. That's the worrying thing. The catching of the ground fielding against Sri Lanka was

10:09disappointing. It could have been even better. If it had been better, then India would have won the

10:14match. It wouldn't have gone to the super over. So that's the one area that India cannot afford to

10:20be loose on Sunday. Okay, Sahi Bhai, finally, before we let you go, you've spoken about certain areas

10:29that, you know, Indian team is strong at, certain areas where they probably can work a bit come the

10:35final. But finally, anything you reckon India needs to guard against Pakistan so as to ensure that there

10:43is no major upset in the final, what could be that? I think the last three overs that they bowl,

10:51whether they are fielding first or they are fielding second, it's the last three overs that can turn the

10:58match around for India. They have to get that right. Okay, we'll leave it at that. Mr. Gavaskar,

11:07thank you so much for joining us and giving us a perspective on that big final.

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