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Kuldeep Yadav leads India’s crushing win over Pakistan in Asia Cup
India secured a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup, showcasing strong bowling and strategic batting, dedicating the win to armed forces.
Kolkata: India are no strangers to comprehensive wins against Pakistan of late but this one felt different. No handshakes exchanged at the toss, none after the match, no pumping of fists or animated glares either, this was a tie marked by an unusually quiet grit that translated into a seven-wicket victory against a hapless Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
The match was won and lost in the first half of either innings, Pakistan tottering at 49/4 in 10 overs before India cruised to 88/2. Abhishek Sharma went berserk with a 13-ball 31 to give India the kind of momentum they couldn’t have frittered away. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav took over and calmly consolidated the start in two crucial partnerships to see India home.
The Indian skipper dedicated the win to the armed forces. “We stand with the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we express our solidarity and we want to dedicate today’s win to the armed forces,” he said at the presentation.
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha was not invited to give his comments at the post-match presentation.
In a game obsessed with batting feats, this was a win fronted primarily by India’s bowlers. In 13 overs, India’s spinners had accounted for six wickets, for just 65 runs. Overall, 63 dot balls had been bowled by India. None of this would have been possible without help from Pakistan’s batters.
Till Shaheen Shah Afridi smoked 33 off 16 balls—including two sixes off Hardik Pandya in the last over—Pakistan looked adamant on not crossing the 100-run mark. A dash of Pandya in the first over, followed by the slow choke applied by Jasprit Bumrah, and Pakistan were 6/2 within eight balls. None of the shots were worth writing home about, Saim Ayub spooning Pandya to point before Mohammad Haris tried to take on Bumrah and was caught at deep-backward square.
Pakistan’s shot selection bordered on the shocking, but not till left-arm spin was introduced did it slump to subterranean levels. Kuldeep Yadav was the chief tormentor, not surprising since his returns against Pakistan across formats before this match were 1/37, 2/41, 2/32, 5/25, 2/35 and 3/40.
It was Axar Patel though who first broke Pakistan’s resistance, hurrying Fakhar Zaman with a 94kph ball that he top edged, Tilak Varma taking the catch running in from long-on. The next five wickets all went to spin, Pakistan mustering 52 in 60 balls, with even Abhishek Sharma chipping in with a five-run over.
That was after Patel struck again on the 10-over mark, dismissing Pakistan captain Salman Agha. This time the ball was slower in the air, bowled at 85kph, pitched on length and reared up on Agha who was attempting a sweep. Top edge again, giving a comfortable catch to Abhishek at the square leg boundary. That was the cue for Kuldeep to come in and completely halt Pakistan on their tracks with a double-wicket over, accounting for Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Nawaz off consecutive deliveries.
The evident gap in class was not just due to the accuracy of India’s spinners, but also because of Pakistan’s obstinacy in not learning from the mistakes and playing with a straight bat. Pakistan were 65/6 but still had 42 balls left to play, yet the next three overs went for 18 runs, plainly because they were trying to smash every ball instead of placing it well.
That meant there was no let-off from India till Afridi tried to break the shackles by taking on Varun Chakravarthy, freeing his arms and clearing the fielder at wide long-off for his first six. He hit three more sixes but that counterattack paled in comparison to what India’s openers unleashed.
First ball from Afridi, Abhishek danced down the track to take him on the full and cart him down the ground for a boundary. The next ball was at the block hole, but he went inside out to hammer a six over cover. Next over, Shubman Gill drilled Saim Ayub down the ground for four, lofting him over extra-cover for another four before being stumped by a superb carrom ball. He was in no mood to slow down though, opening the face of his bat to Afridi for a four before flicking his slower ball into the stands for six.
Two more boundaries off Ayub in the next over and Abhishek was threatening to run away with the game. That’s when Ayub hit back again, getting him caught at long-off, to bring Tilak Varma to the middle.
It was the trigger needed to inject common sense to the batting, as Suryakumar and Varma added 56 runs in 52 balls till Ayub struck again, making the ball turn sharply and clatter into Varma’s off stump. It was too little too late though, as Suryakumar dug in with Shivam Dube to ensure there were no more hiccups towards the end.
