T20 Asia Cup: India scripts dominating 7 wicket win against Pakistan in high-voltage clash
Saim Ayub emerged as Pakistan’s standout bowler with three wickets, but Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma steadied India’s innings after early setbacks in their 128-run chase during the Asia Cup Group A clash in Dubai
PTC News Desk: India scripted a dominating 7 wickets win against Pakistan, featuring a Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma special. This win makes it 11 out of 14 wins for India against their arch rivals in T20Is.
Saim Ayub emerged as Pakistan’s standout bowler with three wickets, but Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma steadied India’s innings after early setbacks in their 128-run chase during the Asia Cup Group A clash in Dubai on Sunday. India’s bowlers had given them the upper hand from the outset, with Hardik Pandya dismissing Ayub off the first legal delivery and Jasprit Bumrah removing Mohammad Haris soon after, leaving Pakistan reeling at 6 for 2.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4-0-18-3) and Axar Patel (4-0-18-2) tightened the screws on Pakistan’s middle order with disciplined bowling and regular breakthroughs. Sahibzada Farhan fought hard with a 40 off 44 balls (1 four, 3 sixes), but the rest of the batting lineup faltered on a relatively benign pitch.
Shaheen Afridi’s quickfire 33 not out off 16 balls gave Pakistan some respectability, helping them cross the 100-run mark.
Earlier, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha won the toss and chose to bat first.
Both teams:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav©, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris(wk), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha©, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed.