Friday Fights | The Big ODI Fight – Tillakaratne Dilshan vs Mohammad Hafeez

While Dilshan has scooped his way to headlines, the calm and collected Professor from Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez, has certainly been a long-standing feature of the Pakistani outfit. But today, on pure statistics, who would survive and more importantly, come out on top?

Let the battle begin. 

Staying true to his name, Tillakaratne Dilshan has certainly a long-lasting legacy in Sri Lanka, especially in the same decade where they were said finding a replacement for Sanath Jayasuriya was thoroughly impossible. Dilshan has not just emerged out of the shadows but in this fight, has also taken the initiative, with a punch on Hafeez, with a batting average of 39.27 in comparison to Hafeez’s 32.9

Wait, what is happening? I can certainly hear “Bella Ciao” ringing in the background but why? I’m perplexed! Oh, now I get it, El Professor has struck back after losing the first round with the ball. A bowling average of 38.84 in comparison to Dilshan’s 45.07 is a huge ‘W’ for him, game on.

Dilshan might have been a great opener, he won the opening round, fair points to him but ever since that, Hafeez has lit up the stage with his moves, nothing quite Jagger-esque but impressive nevertheless. This time around, in ICC competitions, a bowling average of 39.56 just topples Dilshan’s 40.41, so cracking close!

Not yet, don’t rule the Lankan lion out yet, NEVER DO THAT! He might have been down in the last two rounds, but this time he isn’t wasting any time certainly with a punch that has a resonating sound around in the arena. A conversation rate of 31.88 in comparison to 22.44 is certainly a joke and only Dilshan can dominate in such a way, the DILSCOOP!

At home, anyone can be the king but away from home is where the real test lies. Who out of the two Asians have ruled the roost outside their familiar territory? Dilshan is certainly in that territory, he’s feeling it, the contest is wide open and so is Hafeez’s defence. The Lankan makes full use of it with a 38.98 punch to leave him struck at 34.85, Dilshan is on fire!

When the music is on, the bout is on and when the bout is on, the Professor is ready with the formulae for a comeback. That is certainly what he is intending to do, or at least, it looks that way from here. An almost punch, a shimmy and a fierce punch - with that Hafeez takes this round with 0.78 wickets per innings in comparison to Dilshan’s 0.47.

While the experiment worked out last time around, in that particular round, since then, it really seems to have faded out, especially with Dilshan being in such a prime form. We really saw in the World Safety series, sound and impressive and here too, he isn’t lacking a punch. A strike-rate of 86.23 over 76.61 any day, anytime, any freaking year. 

Stop it, stop the round - Dilshan is on a rampage, stop the mad-man for he surely will break Professor and his experiment into pieces. Nine 100+ scores in run-chases, especially when the team requires, Dilshan has stood up and performed. Meanwhile, Hafeez had a bit of lul, in the ring and in that segment, with just four centuries during run-chases. Is that the last straw in the draw? 

Stop it, will you two? You guys are having a go at each other for the last eight rounds and we are tired of you two fighting, I can’t type anymore, at least at the pace at which you guys are certainly fighting. Oh btw, Professor is back, with a punch, a mighty one, to be honest, taking this round with a bowling average of 38.21 on neutral grounds and let’s just keep Dilshan’s bowling figures, for another day?

Oh, come on, you really know who we are talking about, ya that guy, who somehow found boundaries in places there weren’t too many gaps, yes Dilshan! 3.84 boundaries per innings is insane, especially considering that Hafeez just had 3.58 boundaries per innings. So, are we done? Oh, he hangs on, by the thinnest of threads, does Hafeez. 

Read it out aloud, “Dilshan doesn’t freaking hold back,” he’s a monster, he knows it only one way - with a vengeance punching back at Hafeez, he took the first round and now he has taken the last one as well. Hmmm, interesting, really interesting, with a batting average of 40.08 against 38.88 in Head-to-Head clashes. I’m sure after this bout, Hafeez wouldn’t want to see Dilshan anywhere, not even on YouTube. 

Now, we are finally done and this is it, Tillakaratne Dilshan has taken this contest, all by himself, with 104 points in comparison to Mohammad Hafeez, who has 101 on his side, not a bad effort from the Pakistani all-rounder. But in reality, we all know that the contest was tilted, Dilshan seemed possessed and in a good way, to win the bout and take back some of the pride from this contest. The crowd are disappointed, not because Hafeez lost or because Dilshan won but because - this encounter, this close-fight is coming to an end.