A tactically superior Pakistan caught India completely off-guard with a Mohammed Nawaz punt as they exacted sweet revenge with a five-wicket victory in an exciting Super 4 game of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Chasing 182 to win, Pakistan got over the line in the last over.
Meanwhile, reacting to Babar Azam-led side’s victory, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar claimed that he had predicted the Men in Green will bounce back after their group stage loss and will ‘ruthlessly’ beat India in the Super 4 clash. Akhtar also stated that he had told Indian fans to not get too happy after their win in the group stage.
“Meine Indians ko bhi kaha, bahut sare doosto ko bhi kaha tha ki itna khush hone ki zaruurat nahi hai, Pakistan will make a strong comeback, meine video mein bhi bola tha Pakistan ruthelessly marage Hindustan ko. (I told Indian fans and my friends to not get too happy as Pakistan will make a strong comeback and I had said in an earlier video that Pakistan will ruthlessly trounce India),” Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Akhtar also questioned India’s team selection for the game and said, “India should decide what should be their final XI. Who is your future – is it Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hood or Ravi Bishnoi? Find you final XI at least first, because, this is confused selection from India and I don’t know why is there so much confusion.”
Talking about the match, chasing a tough target of 182, the ever dependable Mohammed Rizwan (71 off 51 balls) anchored the Pakistan innings but it was left-handed batter Nawaz, known more for his orthodox left-arm spin, who played the decisive knock of the match.
His 42 off 20 balls was something that India didn’t factor in and there was no gameplan for him as Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ali completed a deserving victory with a ball to spare.
The Rizwan-Nawaz partnership of 73 in just 6.5 overs in the mid-stage of the innings had the Indians napping.
Yuzvendra Chahal (1/43 in 4 overs) and Hardik Pandya (1/44 in 4 overs), the two bowlers who were brilliant last Sunday, were pedestrian on the day as Nawaz took both of them to cleaners.
The 87 that came off their cumulative eight overs turned the match in Pakistan’s favour as Nawaz hit six fours and two sixes.
While Pandya’s short-ball tactic fell flat, Chahal was taken to cleaners by both Rizwan and Nawaz as creases on Rohit Sharma’s forehead increased with each passing over.
By the time Nawaz was holed out in the deep off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling, he had inflicted enough damage on the psyche of the Indian attack.
Not having a replacement pacer of Avesh Khan in the main squad also affected India’s chances although to be fair to Ravi Bishnoi (1/26 in 4 overs), he gave it his all.
Finally, it all ended when Bhuvneshwar gave away 19 runs in the 19th over with only seven left off Arshdeep’s final over which Pakistan got with a ball to spare.
Earlier, the much-criticised top-order batters finally showed what they are capable of as India put up a stiff 181 for 7 after being put into bat.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (28) and KL Rahul (28) were outstanding in the Powerplay while Virat Kohli (60) gave glimpses of his vintage self by playing one of his most sublime knocks in recent times to take India to a more than respectable total.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/q3POQhI
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