The much anticipated ODI between arch rivals India and Pakistan turned out to be a one sided affair, as the two cricketing giants faced off in the group game of the Asia Cup. India bowled out Pakistan for 162 in 43.1 overs thanks to brilliant bowling by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav, taking 3 wickets each. Jadhav’s 3 for 23 in 9 overs are his best bowling figures in ODIs. Then scoring 164 in 29 overs.
Openers : Experienced Indias, Newbie Pakistanis.
While India has experienced Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who started slowly in first 5 overs and then played solid innings to reach another 50 run partnership in 53 balls before Sharma(52 runs) perished to Shadab Khan in 14th over. Not before hitting three sixes to set the tone for the low scoring run chase. On other hand Pakistan had no such luck as both there openers were kept on lease by Indian seamers, who cramped Pakistanis for room with no loose deliveries to score any boundaries. Kumar in particular picked up Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zamal in 3rd and 5th overs to bleed Pakistan at 2 for 3 runs.
Middle Order:
On a pitch where score of at least 260-280 is considered competitive, Pakistan couldn’t stop wickets from falling except some good batting by Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik who scored 82 runs for 3rd wicket partnership. Rest were no match for Kumar, Bumrah and Jadhavs bowling. It didn’t matter that Hardik Pandya hurt himself so badly while bowling that he had to be stretchered off the field. Pakistan’s middle order just crumbled under the pressure, with the next four wickets falling for just 25 runs.
Pandya’s replacement, Jadhav, managed to frustrate the batsmen with his shrewd changes of pace and trajectory before Sarfraz tried to hit him for a six wide of long-on.
With Kohli not playing Asia Cup, the 1 down slot is being filled by Ambati Raydu who’s making most of the opportunities scoring some handsome runs along with Dinesh Karthik. Both scoring runs in today’s and previous match as well.
Man of the Match : Bhuvi.
It was splendid bowling by seamer to bowl good length on between middle and off stump. He didn’t give any room for batsmen to swing their bats and score runs. In turn he was rewarded with 3 crucial wickets (7-1-3-14) and Man of the Match award.
One must remember now that the tournament is far from over and that Team India must not make the mistake that they made back in the Champions Trophy. Though, things are quite different this time, the result might end up being similar if they do not rectify their mistakes and learn from their errors.
The team is without some of the first choice players and though they have the experience to deliver big things, this Asia Cup is more important than what it seems to be. It is a pre-requisite for the upcoming World Cup next year and whichever team wins the tournament will have a huge boost in their morale, heading into that tournament. Hopefully, India is that team and they can deliver after a lot of promise in the group stages.
