Failure to pick up cues on the field has been a recurring feature of India's dismal performances at ICC events in the last few years.

In the World Test Championship final at The Oval, India couldn't exploit Australia's Travis Head's weakness against the short-pitched stuff until he reached his century. A similar blunder almost unfolded at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday when Abdullah Shafique was batting.

The Indians allowed the opener to play straight and never tested him from that short of a length until Jasprit Bumrah produced one in the seventh over. The alarm bells had been sounded and Mohammed Siraj was quick to pounce on the opportunity.

In consultation with Rohit Sharma, Siraj harped on the ploy to unsettle him with the short delivery. Following one that didn't rise much as expected, Rohit instructed the fine leg fielder to move squarer.

Shafique was committed to the back foot anticipating another snorter when Siraj actually bowled a fuller length delivery which kept a bit low and caught the batter inside the crease.

"With the new ball, you have to see if it's swinging or not. You can pitch it up at the start and can get hit for a few boundaries because it's such a big format. Then you understand what line is better on this wicket," Siraj said after the match.

"Then we consistently keep hitting those areas. Abdullah Shafique's wicket was a plan because I had spoken to Rohitbhai. I had bowled a bouncer to him before but he got stuck in the middle. Then I spoke to Rohitbhai for a while and spent some time there. He (Shafique) thought I was going to bowl a bouncer again. He was on the back foot, and I pitched the ball up (slightly further) and got success."

Rohit's marshalling of his resources and getting to turn the fortunes of a match has been one of the highlights of India's success so far in this World Cup.

Another field change played a role in Imam-ul Haq's dismissal too. The opener was threatening to cut loose having dispatched Hardik Pandya to the deep point boundary. Rohit quickly moved a fielder to that region opening up some space in front of the wicket. A fuller-length delivery followed and Imam nicked it behind the stumps.

Then came the Babar Azam dismissal which opened the floodgates as Pakistan crashed from 155/2 to 191 all out. Babar had been milking the spinners dry and Rohit decided to bring in Siraj for his second spell.

Babar mistimed his third ball and it fell short of Pandya at short midwicket. Babar then completed his half-century off a Kuldeep Yadav full toss in the next over and it seemed like Rohit had erred by bringing back Siraj. But the cross-seam delivery which skid to hit the top of the off stump changed the complexion of the game.

"With cross-seam, I thought there could be low bounce... sometimes you (also) get extra bounce. It worked. You saw the result," Siraj said.

When the baton passed on to Rohit from Virat Kohli in November 2021, the mandate from the BCCI brass was clear: reclaim an ICC silverware.

It took a while for Rohit to get used to his new role as he realised the difference in challenges between leading the Indian team and an IPL franchise.

But Rohit has always been quick to reassess situations. He likes to grab the big moments and devise his plans accordingly.

Having finally instilled that killer instinct which this team lacked despite its consistent success in bilateral series, India appear invincible, thanks to Rohit.

Jasprit Bumrah’s secret

Jasprit Bumrah read the Ahmedabad pitch well in the match against Pakistan on Saturday thanks to his experience of playing a lot at the venue in his junior days.

"I have played a lot of junior cricket at this ground. Since it was a flat wicket, I tried to implement that experience of mine here," Bumrah told BCCI.tv. "Before getting hit for four boundaries, it's vital to realise about the wicket right after one boundary," he added.

Also of help was his IPL experience of bowling on flat decks.

Ramiz calls it a ‘pasting’

New Delhi: Former captain Ramiz Raja has slammed Babar Azam's Pakistan for producing an insipid performance against India.

“It's going to hurt them. It's scarring, it's a pasting, it's a battering and they've been outpaced and outplayed in all the three departments,” Raja told the ICC Review Podcast.

“If you can't win, then at least compete. Pakistan weren't able to do that,” he said.

About it being Pakistan’s eighth successive loss in World Cups to India, Raja said: “It's a reality and Pakistan have got to do something about it."

With inputs from PTI