Picture Credit: Twitter
India opened their Asia Cup 2023 campaign by squaring off against arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-octane match on September 2, Saturday. The match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium started off with Indian captain Rohit Sharma winning the toss and inviting this edition’s hosts to bowl.
On the Indian side, the skipper himself, along with the rising star of their side, Shubman Gill walked in to open the innings. However, contrary to all the expectations and to everyone’s surprise, the 36-year-old batter returned shortly after the commencement of play. Sharma (11) was dismissed by Pakistan’s star pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and the dismissal was just the beginning of his brilliant four-wicket haul in the match.
Owing to Pakistan bowlers’ destructive form, the Men in Green enjoyed some early success with successive wickets. The Indian batters, including the likes of Virat Kohli (4), Shubman Gill (10), Shreyas Iyer (14) returned quickly after their short stay in the middle.
While the entire match seemed to go out of India’s hands at one point, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya got things in control by playing brilliant innings of 82 and 87 runs, respectively.
Speaking of Pakistan’s bowlers, the 23-year-old Afridi topped the charts with four wickets, followed by Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who picked three wickets each. Rained played a spoilsport in the mouth-watering clash between the neighbours and while the Indian innings were interrupted twice, the match got abandoned before the cutoff time, without a ball being bowled in the second innings.
Pakistan, who were coming on the back of a victory against Nepal in the season opener, became the first team to qualify for the Super 4s of Asia Cup 2023. On the flip side, India will lock horns will Nepal in their next and tournament's fifth clash on September 4, Monday, at the same venue.
