- Advertisement -
LAHORE, Sep 14 (APP):Explosive knock by opener Abhishek Sharma 31 (13) and sedate unbeaten innings by captain Surya Kumar Yadav 47 (37) helped India overhaul a below-par total of 127-9 by Pakistan in the 16th over of the innings and sit at top of the Group A with four pints in two matches in the T20I Asia Cup 2025.
Chasing a below-par total at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night, Indian swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma came out with intent and hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for 23 runs off his two opening overs. Sharma hit two 6s and as many boundaries against the ace Pakistani bowlers while his partner Shubman Gill who could score 10 (7) before he was cleverly stumped by wicket-keeper Mohammad Haris off Saim Ayub.
In an effort to finish the match within 10 overs, Abhishek Sharma 31 (13) fell to Saim Ayub while trying to hit the ball out of the park and was caught at long-on by Faheem Ashraf.
Tilak Varma 31 (31) and Surya Kumar Yadav got together at the crease in the fourth over and hit 56 run partnership off 52 balls before Tilak was got the better of by Saim Ayub of a peach of a delivery. The duo ensured the team India crossed the line with ease. Shivam Dube returned unbeaten on 10 (7).
Saim Ayub was the pick off the bowlers for Pakistan and picked three wickets for 35 runs off his four overs. Abrar Ahmed was the most miserly bowler of the match as he conceded 16 runs off wicketless overs. Shaheen Shah Afridi conceded 23 runs off the two overs he bowled. Muhammad Nawaz and Sufiyan Muqeem remained wicketless
Earlier, Pakistan scored 127-9 against some exceptional bowling performance by India after captain Salman Agha won the toss and elected to bat first on the traditionally sluggish Dubai International Cricket stadium pitch.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan 40 (44) played the sheet anchor role for Pakistan but his innings which consisted of three 6s and a boundary could not help the team score big. Farhan hit two big 6s off Bumrah but the Indian spinners put brakes and never let Pakistan batters go for runs. Pakistan were sedately placed at 42-2 after the first power-play but they lost the way as the spin trio of Varun, Axar and Patel took control of the proceedings. With the fall of Fakhar Zaman 17 (15) in the seventh over almost brough the innings to halt as Pakistan could score 7 runs off the next four overs. Pakistan were precariously placed at 49-4 after Captain Salman Agha fell for 3 (12).
The fall of two wickets off the first eight balls of the innings dented Pakistan’s intent to score big against India. Opener Saim Ayub 0 (1) fell off the first ball off Hardik Pandya while Muhammad Haris 3 (5) played a miscued hit off Bumah and was taken care of by Hardik Pandya at the fine leg. The young sensation Hassan Nawaz 5 (7), Muhammad Nawaz 0 (1) and Faheem Ashraf 11 (14) fell early and cheaply. Sufiyan Muqeem 10 (6) played a useful knock but it was cameo of 33 (16) by Shaheen Shah Afridi which provided some respectability to the team total otherwise Pakistan looked to end up with a team total below 100 runs.
The Indian quartet of spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun and Abhishek Sharma conceded 65 runs off 13 overs between them and dried up the runs. The miserly bowling and poor batting can be assessed from the fact that Pakistan played 63 dot balls in their innings. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers who picked three wickets including back-to-back wickets of Hassan Nawaz and Muhammad Nawaz for 18 runs. Axar Patel conceded 18 runs two wickets while Varun claimed one wicket for 24 runs. Abhishek conceded five runs off his only over.
Ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah picked two scalps for 28 runs while Hardik Pandya picked one wicket for 34 runs off three overs.
Kuldeep Yadav was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-changing bowling performance.