If you thought the Indians are tired after the long tour of England and if you thought they would go down easily against Pakistan after an average show against Hong Kong, the Men in Blue proved you horribly wrong. It was as clinical as a performance can get. India defeated the arch-rivals Pakistan by 8 wickets.
Initially, Sarfaraz Ahmed won the toss and opted to bat. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, after a poor outing in the last game, came back to his best. He accounted for the wickets of both the Pakistani openers inside 5 overs. Pakistan was left reeling at 3/2 and was in a dire need of a resurrection.
Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik hung in there to script a comeback. But Kuldeep Yadav inflicted a massive turnaround by dismissing Babar for 47 leaving the opposition at 85/3 in the 21st over. It triggered a massive collapse and Pakistan lost wickets in a heap.
Sarfaraz Ahmed fell in the bid to up the ante and Malik got run out. Kedar Jadhav enjoyed a great outing and ended up picking 3 wickets. There was not a lot of resistance from the lower order and ultimately, the Men in Green were bowled out for 162 in 43.1 overs.
The Indian openers got off to a steady start and saw off the new ball. Rohit Sharma then went berserk and hit some breathtaking sixes. One pull shot after another took his past his fifty off just 34 balls. His partner Shikhar Dhawan played second fiddle and the opening stand of 86 runs put India firmly in control.
Rohit scored 52 while Dhawan departed after scoring 46. There wasn’t much left in the chase and the formality was completed by Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik. Both stayed unbeaten at 31 and brought the side home in 29 overs with 8 wickets in hand.
Match Summary
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first
Pakistan: 162/10 in 43.1 overs
Babar Azam 47 (62), Shoaib Malik 43 (67)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 15/3 (7), Kedar Jadhav 23/3 (9)
India: 164/2 in 29 overs
Rohit Sharma 52 (39), Shikhar Dhawan 46 (54)
Shadab Khan 6/1 (1.3), Faheem Ashraf 31/1 (5)
India won by 8 wickets
Player of the Match: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Here are the best tweets that panned out during India’s win against Pakistan
Congratulations India! 👏🏻👏🏻Overall a great team effort by bowlers and batsmen.. well played! 💪🏻 #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 19, 2018
Rohit has already played three shots I will remember for a long time. Back foot cut and front foot cover drive off Amir and that pull shot, that one, off Usman.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 19, 2018
Well played bro @ImRo45 @circleofcricket @ESPNcricinfo
— 𝕸𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖎 (@MdShami11) September 19, 2018
Not many hit it as clean as Rohit…making Pakistan bowling look ordinary. That’s what Rohit does when he’s on song…. #IndvPak #AsiaCup @StarSportsIndia
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 19, 2018
Great atmosphere when it is #IndvsPak anywhere in the world. Wishing the Indian team all the best in this chase of 163 pic.twitter.com/8yHKjxMlvp
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) September 19, 2018
Sad too see @hardikpandya7 ‘s injury ! Don’t see that often on the ground ! Hope he recovers soon 🙏
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) September 19, 2018
Congratulations India on a very comprehensive victory. Wonderful team effort and great contributions from everyone #INDvPAK
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 19, 2018
That was too easy for India. Will take a lot of confidence from this win.
Kedar Jadhav’s spell was the turning point #IndiavsPakistan— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 19, 2018
Thumping victory by team India 👏👏 #IndVsPak
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 19, 2018
Great start by Indian side, must to applaud is the way they bowled. Outstanding given the warm conditions on a batting wicket. Hoping for a thrilling encounter, that our side also bowls exceptionally well – Big responsibility for the Pakistani pacers on their shoulders. #PakVInd
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 19, 2018
While the war like situation is all pervasive in both the countries, tender moments like this on the pitch lifts the game of cricket into a gentleman’s game #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/Q8W0L5MZWH
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) September 19, 2018
Superb blowing by the Indian bowlers to restrict Pak to 162. They really have come back strongly in this game after slight hiccups last evening. #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) September 19, 2018
Pak’s batting challenge was how well they would play Indian Spin …and…..oops!!!!
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 19, 2018
I certainly missed watching @ImRo45 in the nets for @mipaltan this last IPL – playing shots like that last cover drive #throwdowns #genius
— Jonty Rhodes (@JontyRhodes8) September 19, 2018
The bowlers stood up when it mattered the most. @jaspritbumrah93 & @bhuviofficial bolwed an excellent opening spell and the the three spinners maintained the pressure right through the innings. @jadhavkedar was just superb with his variety of deliveries.#INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018 pic.twitter.com/3XYVfB76o2
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) September 19, 2018
Magnificent from the Indian bowlers but the game is far from over. Bowling is Pakistan's stronger suite n they'll run in hard. Hope the top order does it for India, don't think Hardik will bat either. #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) September 19, 2018
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