SRI LANKA: India won the toss and chose to bat against Pakistan in one of the most anticipated matches of the Asia Cup 2023. The match was played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Both captains wanted to bat first as per the conditions. India chose to move with 2 frontline pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, supported by two spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Pakistan went on with the same squad they used against Nepal. After nearly four years, IND and PAK played a one-day international.
Starting off the bowling for Pakistan was Shaheen Afridi against the Indian skipper. In the second ball of the first over, Rohit Sharma flicked the ball, which was at a catchable height but was ultimately dropped by Fakhar Zaman at square leg. After 4.2 overs, India was 15/0 as rain stopped play.
As the play resumed, Rohit was bowled off a beautiful inswinger by Afridi. Virat Kohli moved in after the skipper’s dismissal and opened his account with a fabulous cover drive for a boundary. In the very next over, Afridi proved to be the nemesis for Kohli as he edged the ball onto the stumps. Pakistan was off to a great start in this all-important fixture.
Shreyas Iyer was the next batsman to come in. Iyer took on Haris Rauf in his very first over, as he struck two boundaries. Shubman Gill scored his first boundary in the 10th over. Shreyas Iyer was dismissed in the same over trying to pull but ended up giving an unfortunate catch to Zaman at mid-wicket. After 11 overs, India was 51/3 with openers Gill and Ishan Kishan at the crease. Rain once again hindered the play, as India was 51/3 after 11.2 overs.
Kishan scored the first six of the game in the 13th over. Shadab Khan was introduced in the 14th over. Shubman Gill was cleaned up by Haris Rauf off an inside edge in the 15th over. Hardik Pandya edged off the very first ball for four runs off a misfield by Naseem Shah. India was 72/4 after 15 overs.
After 25 overs, IND was 127/4, with Kishan nearing his fifty along with Hardik Pandya. Kishan and Pandya were fighting back and trying to take India out of the early breakthroughs that slowed India’s innings. Ishan Kishan reached his 50 in just 54 balls. This was his fourth consecutive fifty in ODIs and the very first at the number 5 position.
Pandya brought up his 50 in 62 balls. Kishan and Pandya also completed their 100-run partnership for the 5th wicket. India was 183/4 with 15 overs left in the inning. Both the batsmen looked comfortable and moved on to pace up the innings to put on a formidable score. India crossed the 200-run mark in the 37th over with both Kishan and Pandya still at the crease.
Ishan Kishan was dismissed for a well-made 82 off 81 deliveries by Haris Rauf with 12 overs still to play. This was a record 5th wicket partnership for India in ODIs. Both batsmen added up 138 runs for the 5th wicket.
Hardik Pandya was dismissed for a gutsy knock of 87 in the 44th over. Ravindra Jadeja was caught behind off an edge for a mere 14 runs in the same over. In the very next over, Shardul Thakur was sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, shattering India’s hope of reaching closer to 300.
India reached the 250-run mark in the 46th over with a boundary over mid-off by Bumrah. Kuldeep Yadav made 4 runs, and Bumrah made a vital contribution of 16 runs to wind up the Indian innings for 266. Afridi scalped 4 wickets, and Rauf and Naseem bagged 3 wickets each to stop India below 275.
Once again, as the Indian innings ended, light drizzles started once again, forcing the play to stop for the third time. As it seems that according to the rules, 1 hour of extended time was lost, the target was cut down to 226 in 36 overs. As rain started once again, the cut-off time for the 20-over chase was 22:27 hours.
Unfortunately, the match had been officially called off without a ball being bowled in the second inning. Both teams shared one point each. Pakistan are now through to the Super Four. India will face Nepal in their next match, which will be a must-win for them.
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