India once again dominated arch-rivals Pakistan in the second Super 4 match of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. A 105-run partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill helped India chase down Pakistan’s target of 171 with seven balls to spare.
Once again, there was no exchange of handshakes at the toss as India invited Pakistan to bat and achieved their biggest ever successful target against them. Pakistan posted a competitive total with Farhan anchoring the innings and Faheem Ashraf adding late runs, but frequent dot balls in the middle overs slowed their progress; Indian openers came out with fiery bats and started scoring boundaries.
Sharma scored 74 off 39 balls, and Gill scored 47 off 28, followed by Sharma’s first-ball six to Shaheen Shah Afridi opening the second inning. Gill’s master-stroking cricketing shots looked like he had achieved the brilliance to tackle every ball.
Surya Kumar Yadav and Sanju Samson left the crease very early, but Tilak Verma finished the game with Hardik Pandya on the other side of the crease, being the helping hand if Tilak fell some short.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for both teams, as both teams dropped lollipop catches, misfielded, and had unfortunate run-out, most probably for Jasprit Bumrah, as he was out of his rhythm after a long time. He delivered 2 full toss balls, one being the no ball also, which is not usual as we see him. Bumrah conceded 45 runs without any wickets and an economy of 11.25, the highest among the Indian side and second in this match.
Clash Worth the Ticket
Once again, there were no handshakes exchanged between the captains and the teams, neither at the toss nor after the match. Now the issue remains unresolved once again and has become a matter of concern for cricket fans around the world.
The Dubai heat and the match were both extremely exciting. Abhishek Sharma began countering Pakistan with both bat and ball from the very first over. The match saw several instances when the umpire had to intervene to control the players.
Brief Score: (Pakistan 171/5 (20 overs): Sahibzada Farhan 58, Saim Ayub 21; Shivam Dube 2/33
India 174/4 (18.5 overs): Abhishek Sharma 74, Shubman Gill 47; Haris Rauf 2/26
India won by 6 wickets)
