COLOMBO, Aug. 10 -- Mohammed Siraj picked up six wickets for 21 runs and Pakistan were bowled out for 128. None of that was even the most surprising thing about the day at R. Premadasa Stadium. The most surprising thing was that India had scored 356 for 2.

The Asia Cup Super Four match was supposed to be competitive. Pakistan had beaten India in their group stage encounter five days earlier in a rain-affected match settled by Duckworth-Lewis. That result had fed a narrative of parity. The September 10 match dissolved that narrative in fifty overs of batting and thirty-four overs of surgical dismemberment.

Rohit Sharma opened with 56. Shubman Gill made 58. By the time Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were batting together - both in a register th...