Pallekele, Sep 2: Electing to bat first, India in their first Group A match of the Asia Cup at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, set a target of 267 runs before arch rivals Pakistan.
Unable to counter Pakistani fast bowlers, especially sensational Shaheen Shah Afridi, India were bundled out for 266 runs in 48.5 overs. The three Pakistani pacers Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah grabbed all the 10 Indian wickets.
Afridi with 4/35 in his allotted 10 overs was the chief wrecker. Rauf and Shah claimed three wickets each. For India, vice captain Hardik Pandya (87) and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan (82) were the only two, who could withstand the sharp Pakistani pace attck. For their valiant efforts, India could manage a somewhat fighting total of 266, though failed to play 50 overs..
Afridi proved once again why he is rated so high in world cricket and how lethal he can be with the new ball. Afridi clean bowled India captain Rohit Sharma (11 runs in 22 balls with two 4s) and Virat Kohli (4 runs in 7 balls with one 4).
Afridi was ably supported by Haris Rauf, who removed Shreyas Iyer for 9, caught by Fakhar Zaman at mid-wicket. Iyer hit two consecutive boundaries against Rauf in the 8th over, but his brief dominance at the crease was cut short by Rauf in the final ball of the 10th over. Returning to international cricket after a long injury break, Iyer tried to dominate the Pakistani pacers, but Rauf had the last laugh as he got him caught by Zaman.
Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah made a return to India’s playing eleven in ODIs against arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Group A match of the Asia Cup at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
In the run-up to the highly-anticipated clash, rain loomed as a large threat. Ahead of the toss, a slight drizzle meant the ground was covered. But 13 minutes ahead of the toss, the rain stopped and covers were taken off.
India has a 7-5 edge over Pakistan in Asia Cup head-to-head record. Saturday’s meeting is also the first clash between India and Pakistan since last facing off in the 2019 Men’s ODI World Cup league stage in Manchester.
Iyer and Bumrah make their return to the Indian team in the 50-over format after recovering from back injuries, with the latter playing in two T20Is against Ireland last month. With KL Rahul unavailable, Ishan Kishan has been slotted in at number three while Virat Kohli is placed at number four.
On the bowling front, Shardul Thakur was picked ahead of Mohammed Shami, owing to him providing a batting option and being second all-rounder alongside Hardik Pandya. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will be the two spinners.
"There is a bit of weather around but we cannot think about it too much. Embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had a six-day camp in Bangalore where we worked on our skills. The Asia Cup is a quality tournament with quality teams. At the end of the day, we need to think what we can do here," said Rohit.
Pakistan had announced an unchanged playing eleven on the eve of the highly-anticipated clash, with captain Babar Azam admitting that batting first was also in his thoughts. "We have played a lot of cricket here in the last one and a half months, so we know the conditions."
"Top teams are playing so Asia Cup is good. We'll try to do our best. Performing well always gives you confidence, we'll try to capitalize. It's a high-intensity match, we'll try to be calm and composed."
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
(With IANS inputs)
