India Closing the Gap
Pakistan's 140 run loss to the Indians last night was their largest defeat at the hands of India ever.
Pakistan and India have played ODI cricket for 30 years now. In fact this is the 30th year with the 1st ODI dating back to October 1978.
That first ever ODI between them was played in Quetta, where a Bishen Singh Bedi led India beat Pakistan by 4 runs.
4 runs? Thats it. 4 runs. These days Pakistan loses by 130 runs more than that.
In the past, Pakistan have usually had the better of the Indians which is highlighted by the overall record between the teams.
118 ODIs in 30 years, Pakistan won 66, India won 44, 8 were washed out - Pakistan Win/Loss Ratio: 1.5.
But gone are the days when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to send shivers down the spine of the Indian batsmen.
Gone are the days when Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq used to have the Indian batsmen in a tangle.
Gone are the days when the sight of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail used to make the Indian bowlers sweat.
Gone are the days when Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam Ul Haq used to belt the Indian bowlers around.
Gone are the days when a Moin Khan or a Rashid Latif would dive across the slips and catch blinders off Sachin, Azharuddin, Manjerekar, and Jadeja.
Gone are the days when an Imran Khan and a Javed Miandad used to hold psychological advantage over the Indians.
These days it is the Pakistani bowlers who tremble at the sight of Sehwag and Gambhir.
It is the Pakistani spinners and medium pacers who suffer at the hands of Yuvraj and Dhoni.
It is the Pakistani openers who get shivers down their spines at the sight of a Praveen Kumar or an Irfan Pathan.
And they feel relieved to hear that a Sreesanth or an RP Singh is not playing.
It is the Pakistani batsmen who seem to be clueless in front of Piyush Chawla and Harbajhan Singh.
It is the Pakistani keeper who can't hold on to straight forward chances.
These days is the likes of Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj, and Pathan that hold the psychological advantage.
How the times have changed. The tide has turned. The tables have been toppled. India has surely closed the gap on Pakistan over the years.
Taking a look at the 3 ten-year periods between the 2 sides shows a clearer picture of how India has closed the gap.
Period I: 1978-1987: 25 ODIs, Pakistan won 15, India won 9 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.67.
Period II: 1988-1997: 37 ODIs, Pakistan won 22, India won 12 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.83.
Period III: 1998-2007: 51 ODIs, Pakistan won 29, India won 22 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.32.
The last decade has definitely been India's best.
If the last 5 year period is looked at then the closing of the gap is further highlighted.
Period III.5: 2003-2007: 28 ODIs, Pakistan won 14, India won 14 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.00.
Narrow that down to the last 2 years and it shows that India has not only closed the gap but turned it around completely.
Period III.75: 2006 & 2007: 12 ODIs, Pakistan won 4, India won 8 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 0.5.
With India handing Pakistan their largest defeat ever in ODI history between the 2 teams, Pakistan has surely hit rock bottom against India.
The only way from here is up. Or can it get worse?
Will India continue to widen the gap their way or will Pakistan now work on closing the gap?
With the way things look, India is on its way to become the best ODI side in the world. It will take Pakistan some time to match them.
Hopefully, it won't take them 3 decades.
Pakistan and India have played ODI cricket for 30 years now. In fact this is the 30th year with the 1st ODI dating back to October 1978.
That first ever ODI between them was played in Quetta, where a Bishen Singh Bedi led India beat Pakistan by 4 runs.
4 runs? Thats it. 4 runs. These days Pakistan loses by 130 runs more than that.
In the past, Pakistan have usually had the better of the Indians which is highlighted by the overall record between the teams.
118 ODIs in 30 years, Pakistan won 66, India won 44, 8 were washed out - Pakistan Win/Loss Ratio: 1.5.
But gone are the days when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to send shivers down the spine of the Indian batsmen.Gone are the days when Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq used to have the Indian batsmen in a tangle.
Gone are the days when the sight of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail used to make the Indian bowlers sweat.
Gone are the days when Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam Ul Haq used to belt the Indian bowlers around.
Gone are the days when a Moin Khan or a Rashid Latif would dive across the slips and catch blinders off Sachin, Azharuddin, Manjerekar, and Jadeja.
Gone are the days when an Imran Khan and a Javed Miandad used to hold psychological advantage over the Indians.
These days it is the Pakistani bowlers who tremble at the sight of Sehwag and Gambhir.
It is the Pakistani spinners and medium pacers who suffer at the hands of Yuvraj and Dhoni.
It is the Pakistani openers who get shivers down their spines at the sight of a Praveen Kumar or an Irfan Pathan.And they feel relieved to hear that a Sreesanth or an RP Singh is not playing.
It is the Pakistani batsmen who seem to be clueless in front of Piyush Chawla and Harbajhan Singh.
It is the Pakistani keeper who can't hold on to straight forward chances.
These days is the likes of Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj, and Pathan that hold the psychological advantage.
How the times have changed. The tide has turned. The tables have been toppled. India has surely closed the gap on Pakistan over the years.
Taking a look at the 3 ten-year periods between the 2 sides shows a clearer picture of how India has closed the gap.
Period I: 1978-1987: 25 ODIs, Pakistan won 15, India won 9 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.67.
Period II: 1988-1997: 37 ODIs, Pakistan won 22, India won 12 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.83.
Period III: 1998-2007: 51 ODIs, Pakistan won 29, India won 22 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.32.
The last decade has definitely been India's best.
If the last 5 year period is looked at then the closing of the gap is further highlighted.
Period III.5: 2003-2007: 28 ODIs, Pakistan won 14, India won 14 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 1.00.
Narrow that down to the last 2 years and it shows that India has not only closed the gap but turned it around completely.
Period III.75: 2006 & 2007: 12 ODIs, Pakistan won 4, India won 8 - Pakistan W/L Ratio: 0.5.
With India handing Pakistan their largest defeat ever in ODI history between the 2 teams, Pakistan has surely hit rock bottom against India.
The only way from here is up. Or can it get worse?
Will India continue to widen the gap their way or will Pakistan now work on closing the gap?
With the way things look, India is on its way to become the best ODI side in the world. It will take Pakistan some time to match them.
Hopefully, it won't take them 3 decades.
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and pak increasing the gap between their ears.
Pakistan have always played their best cricket in Sharjah (even better than in Pak) against India and every other nation in the world.. Now with practically no matches being played in Sharjah, that would explain the reduced winning percentage..
PB - for the record, Pakistan and India have played 24 ODIs in Sharjah, out of which Pakistan has won 18 and India 6. That is a significant difference, however even if you take that out, the record looks like:
94 ODIs, Pakistan won 48, India won 38 - W/L ratio of 1.3.
Now if you compare the 3 periods that I mention in my post without Sharjah, it looks like this:
Period I: Pak W/L Ratio: 1.6
Period II: Pak W/L Ratio: 1.1
Period III: Pak W/L Ratio: 1.3
Hmm.. so Period II was when a lot of matches happened in Sharjah, and taking them out reduces Pakistan's W/L quite a bit.. even lower than the last decade.
However, the results still show that Pakistan had the better of India throughout the 80s and 90s... and even during the entire last 10 year period, but the last 3-5 year period as highlighted by my periods III.5 and III.75, India has been the better team.
I would say that its not only the Sharjah factor.
The Indian team has improved a lot overtime.
While Pakistan has deteriorated.
@q - wow u are the statsninja..
Tazeen that would be the best reason ever to replace the captain.
PB - that title is with David Barry of www.pappubahry.com :-)
I am just an apprentice ;-)