India vs Pakistan Highlights, Asia Cup: All-Round India Beat Pakistan By 8 Wickets
Highlights, Asia Cup 2018, India vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan starred with the bat as India beat Pakistan by eight wickets.
India ticked all boxes as they clinically decimated Pakistan by eight wickets in a lopsided Asia Cup group league encounter Wednesday. It was a superlative effort from the bowling unit that saw them shot out Pakistan for a paltry 162 in 43.1 overs before Rohit Sharma (52 off 39 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (46 off 54 balls) added 86 for the opening wicket to ensure a smooth chase. This was India's most comprehensive victory in terms of balls remaining (126). After a wake-up call against Hong Kong, the Pakistan match was a near perfect performance for India as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/15 in 7 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (3/23 in 9 overs) were perfectly complemented by Jasprit Bumrah (2/23 in 7.1 overs) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/37 in 8 overs). (Scorecard)Â (Play fantasy league and win cash daily)
If Kuldeep's googly to snuff out Babar Azam was the turning point, Kedar Jadhav's unconventional side-arm off-breaks broke the lower middle-order as Pakistan never recovered from the batting collapse. With the pressure of scoreboard virtually non-existent, Rohit and Dhawan showed why they are one of the most formidable opening pair in white ball cricket.
The eighth over from Usman Khan enabled India cut loose as Rohit first hooked him for a six using the pace of the delivery and followed it with a 'Nataraja' pull shot for boundary and then short arm pull in-front of the square for another six. With 19 runs coming off that over, there was no looking back for India. Rohit's third six was a another hook shot off Hasan Ali followed by a drive through mid-off to complete his 35th half century in ODIs.
India will meet Pakistan on September 23 again in the Super Fours.
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team
IND vs PAK, Asia Cup Highlights
Done with this one-sided game. Our focus now shifts to Afghanistan vs Bangladesh encounter on Thursday which promises to be an exciting one. Both teams defeated Sri Lanka quite easily and will be high on confidence. Don't miss this Group B fixture starting at 1530 local (1130 GMT). Until then, it's goodbye and cheers!
BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE MATCH. Says that it is always important to pick wickets to win any game. Praises Kedar Jadhav for bowling well in the absence of Hardik Pandya. On the line and length, Bhuvi states that on flat tracks like these, where the ball does not swing, the bowlers do not have any option than to stick to lines and lengths. Admits that the conditions are very difficult for players and hence the reason for Hardik getting injured.
Victorious Indian captain Rohit Sharma says that India were very disciplined right from the start, learning from the mistakes in the previous game. Praises his bowling unit for doing exceedingly well in extreme conditions. Stresses further that the spinners kept it tight in the middle overs after the seamers picked up wickets in the opening overs. Feels that it was important to take the wicket of the Pakistan openers as the team has been relying heavily on them and the seamers' immaculate stump-to-stump line made it difficult for the batting side. Also says that during the Malik-Babar stand, he told his team that there is no need to panic as one wicket would change things and that's exactly what happened. On Kedar Jadhav, Rohit says that the all-rounder has taken his bowling quite seriously and did a terrific role, especially with Hardik Pandya injured. On his own batting, the skipper smiles and says that he is happy to have been amongst the runs and states that it is always important that the openers set the tone. Praises the middle order for finishing the job as well.
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed says that their start was poor and after a partnership between Azam and Malik they again lost wickets in clumps. Admits that it was a bad outing for them with the bat with plenty of soft dismissals, barring Babar Azam. Smiles and says that they prepared for the Indian spinners but ended up giving their wickets away to the other bowlers. Considers it as a wake-up call for his team and expects to bounce back in the next match.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan elected to bat but lost their in-form openers very cheaply. Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam steadied the innings with an 82-run stand but post that they experienced a collapse. Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up three wickets apiece and never allowed their rivals to get back on their feet. All in all, they managed to outclass Pakistan in all the facets of the game.
Defending a below par total, Pakistan needed their star fast bowlers to pick some quick wickets with the new ball but that didn't happen. After that their bowling looked quite ordinary and the injury to Shadab Khan didn't help their cause much. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik spent quality time in the middle to hand India a comprehensive win.
A walk in the park for India! So much build-up was given to this game but it failed to live up to the expectations. It was a flop show from the Pakistan batting as they managed a paltry total on the board and after that they never stood a chance to be honest. The Indian openers provided a flying start and that in itself nearly sealed the deal. Rohit Sharma, in particular, looked in scintillating form and notched up a fifty. Shikhar Dhawan also stroked a valiant 46 to back up his century yesterday, thereby showing that he has truly returned to form after a dismal English tour.
FOUR! INDIA WIN BY 8 WICKETS WITH 126 BALLS REMAINING! Shoaib Malik serves a long hop on middle, Rayudu goes back and pulls it thunderously through square leg for a boundary. All done, an easy win for the Men in Blue.
Floated ball on middle, Karthik nudges it through square leg for a run.
FOUR! Connects and connects well. Flighted on middle and leg, Karthik goes down on one knee and sweeps it with the turn to the fine leg fence. Malik showing special affinity to the leg stump line here. India a boundary away now.