KANDY - Pakistan’s pace-packed bowling attack booked India on 266 in the first innings after Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya’s half-centuries before persistent rain washed out the high-octane Pakistan-India clash in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.
As the highly-anticipated Pak-India clash returned no result, the two arch-rivals shared a point each. Pakistan, who had two points, courtesy of their dominating victory over Nepal, secured their spot in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s as they finished their group-stage campaign with three points in two matches. Meanwhile, India next face Nepal on September 4 in a bid to join Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s.
India after winning the toss started off cautiously amid Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah’s fiery seam bowling before rain interrupted the play briefly. Shaheen Afridi then wreaked havoc on India after the break, as he bowled Indian captain Rohit Sharma (11) on the fourth ball after play resumed and did the same to Virat Kohli (4) in his next over, reducing India to 27-2.
Haris Rauf removed Shreyas Iyer (14) and Shubman Gill (10), hindering India’s recovery. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya then stitched a solid 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket to help India recover from a dismal 66-4. This was India’s highest partnership for the fifth wicket in the Asia Cup ODIs.
Both batters dominated the Pakistani spin bowlers in the middle overs and scored half-centuries before the pace bowlers came back into the attack and brought an end to their record partnership by dismissing Ishan Kishan. Ishan Kishan scored 81-ball 82 featuring nine boundaries and two sixes before ballooning up Haris Rauf’s delivery to be caught safely by Pakistani captain Babar Azam.
Hardik Pandya was then involved in a brief 35-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja before giving a catch to Salman Agha off Shaheen’s slower delivery. Hardik Pandya scored 87 runs off 90 balls with the help of seven boundaries and one six. Pakistani bowlers then wrapped up the Indian innings at 266 in the 49th over after a brief cameo of 16 off 14 by Jasprit Bumrah. Shaheen Afridi led the bowling charts in the first innings of PAK vs IND with figures of 4-35, while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf shared three wickets each.
