India vs Pakistan Asia Cup: How India blew away Pakistan in rain-marred Super 4 contest
India vs Pakistan Asia Cup: How India blew away Pakistan in rain-marred Super 4 contest: Even though it took them two days, the Indian squad, which consists of all-around players, defeated Pakistan in their first Asia Cup Super Four match at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday despite heavy rain. The highly anticipated match was postponed due to rain, and India emerged victorious with a commanding 228 runs to earn two points in the Super 4 phase. In ODIs, it was India’s largest margin of victory against Pakistan in terms of runs.
Due to their decisive win, India now leads the Super Fours rankings with a higher Net Run Rate (NRR); Pakistan and Sri Lanka are tied for second place with two points each. Only Bangladesh has yet to score a point in the Super 4s.
Overnight hitters Virat Kohli (122*) and KL Rahul (111*) hammered unbroken hundreds to propel India to a mammoth 356 for 2, with the team starting on 147/2 in 24.1 overs. Additionally, the bowlers denied Pakistan any opportunity to win the match by holding them to 128 for 8 in 32 overs.
A good beginning for India
India’s openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, set the tone for perfection after being brought in to bat first. To provide the groundwork for India to score a large total, they added a century-run partnership. The renowned Pakistani pacers were repelled by Rohit (56 off 49) and Gill (58 off 52), who quickly reached their half-centuries. On Sunday, in only 16.4 overs, the pair scored 121 runs for the first wicket.
Rain and two blows at once
With two wickets in two overs, Pakistan somewhat retaliated after India’s outstanding start. When he dismissed India captain Rohit Sharma in the 17th over, Shadab Khan handed Pakistan a significant advantage. In the subsequent over, Shaheen Shah Afridi returned to the attack and removed Shubman Gill, the opposite set’s opener. After the two knocks, India was reduced to 123/2 in 17.5 overs. In order to avoid handing Pakistan further wickets, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul began their innings cautiously. In 24.1 overs, the pair gradually advanced India to 147/2 when the sky opened up. The match had to be postponed till Monday due to the weather.
Bating
India’s run engine Virat Kohli and master comeback artist KL Rahul stunned the Pakistan bowlers with a spectacular show of ODI batting after a delayed start on the reserve day. Gradually, they finished a fifty-run stand and quickly got to fifty apiece, sometimes hitting boundaries. Pakistan was already at a disadvantage when it was revealed that Haris Rauf would not be participating because of a minor ache. Following their half-centuries, Kohli and Rahul altered their strategy and began concentrating on the bowlers. Before Kohli hit his 47th century in the format in only 84 balls, Rahul scored his sixth century in an ODI match off 100 balls. Along with being the quickest batsman to score more than 13K in ODIs, Kohli and Rahul put up a record-breaking 233 runs for the third wicket. Together with Rahul, who amassed 111 off 106 balls and stayed undefeated at 122, Kohli led India to a decisive 356 for 2.
Initial setbacks for Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman, the opening batsmen for Pakistan, struggled to get going against Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Imam had a sluggish start, but in the fifth over he was out at second slip from fast pacer Bumrah. In addition, it took some time for Fakhar and Babar Azam to maintain Pakistan’s lead over the two Indian pacers. After the first bowling change in the 11th over, India claimed another significant wicket when Babar was clean bowled by Hardik Pandya with an inswinger, bringing Pakistan to 44 for 2. After Hardik’s goal, the rain returned and continued to disrupt play for a considerable amount of time.
Kuldeep display and pressure from the scoreboard
Shardul Thakur struck in his first over to remove Mohammad Rizwan in the 12th over as soon as play started. After that, Kuldeep Yadav dominated the contest. Pakistani batsmen were unable to play freely due to pressure from the scoreboard and early wickets, and they were further pressured by India’s spinners, Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep finished with remarkable figures of 5 for 25 in 8 overs, his second five-wicket haul in One-Day Internationals. He continued to chip away at wickets at regular intervals. In the 20th over, Kuldeep removed Fakhar Zaman (27) for his maiden wicket with a clean ball, and in the 24th over, he trapped Agha Salman (23) LBW. In the 28th over, he then removed Shadab Khan for his third wicket. In the 30th over, Kuldeep removed Iftikhar Ahmed (23) with a caught and bowled dismissal for his fourth wicket. In the 32nd over, he added Faheem Ashraf to finish with a five-for. Due to niggles, pacers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who did not bowl on Monday, did not step out to bat as Pakistan’s pursuit came to an end at 128 for 8.
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