The very thought of an India-Pakistan Final brings back vivid memory of the inaugural World Twenty Final in 2007. That moment, when S Sreesanth somehow grabbed onto Misbah-ul-Haq's scoop shot-gone-wrong catch on short fine-leg, still gives every Indian goosebumps.
The expectation of witnessing another such nail-biting Final in Oval, london is somewhat low this time as this Virat Kohli-led team are runaway favourites against a rejuvenated - but weak-looking - Pakistan.
Defending champions were expected to reach the Finals from day one and the top order has played a major role in that. Initially, there were doubts regarding the openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Both had an average IPl, and experts were sceptical about their preparedness for the seaming tracks of England. But the duo being experienced campaigners of international cricket, batted sensibly at the beginning of the innings to see out the first hour and accelerated the scoreboard swiftly after the first powerplay. To compliment the duo's strong start, effervescent Virat too came up with neat knocks of his own to keep things moving flawlessly. As a matter of fact, the trio - Rohit (333), Shikhar (271), and Virat (253) - have orchestrated 857 of the aggregate 1098 runs scored by the Men in Blue, which includes three centuries and six fifties.
The trio's dominance meant the middle-order hardly had to bat in the series, which has popped up a question from few quarters: if the trio fails to deliver against the revitalised Pak bowling line-up, spearheaded by pacer Mohammad Aamir, can the remaining batters cope up with the pressureIJ But the question seems vague as the team, which consist of renowned veterans like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, possess world-class quality, along with young guns such as Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, and Hardik Pandya, who are capable of pacing the innings at their will.
The young trio also serves as the crucial fifth bowling option, and Kedar's spell especially played a crucial role in distorting the Bangladesh's momentum in the semis. But Hardik Pandya being hit for runs in the middle overs by Tamim Iqbal - costing three 4's and one six - raises a concern of him being the weak link of Indian bowling. This could be neutralised by the death bowling expertise of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
Fast bowlers hunt in pair, and so do Bhuvi and Bumrah. Virat's decision of reshuffling the bowling line-up and handing the new ball to double B's, after Sri lankan thrashing, has worked wonders as they have made the start and end of the innings their hunting ground - chocking the batsmen with their accuracy in line and length, and the knuckle ball.
Despite all the precision, robustness, and impeccability, Team India will not take their arch rival for granted and will look to maintain the intensity to put another flawless show.