India home with seven balls to spare
It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for India once Abhishek Sharma got out, but he and Shubman Gill had done enough to make sure India didn't have too many anxious moments in the end. Pakistan kept up with India, perhaps even put them under pressure, for the first 10 overs of this match, but it has been mostly one-way traffic since then. India now lead the head-to-head against Pakistan 12-3 in recent international cricket. We leave you with a teaser from our final report. Thanks for joining us.
For about 10 overs, Pakistan threatened what has become rare in recent years, a memorable cricketing contest against India, but ran out of gas against the depth of India’s bowling. Still, 171 was the highest total they have ever set India, but it ended up as all their defences against India have: in defeat, this time with seven balls to spare.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill crushed the total without ever looking in trouble, starting with a six first ball and adding 105 for the first wicket, making sure the middle order didn’t have too much to do when scoring became difficult against the older ball. Gill scored 47 off 28, but Abhishek, who dropped Sahibzada Farhan in the first over, carried on to 74 off 39, leaving India just 49 to get off 46.
Farhan went on to score a fifty to promise a contest but it felt like he had to play out of his skin to get there. He was also culpable in the slowdown, adding just 7 off 11 after reaching fifty as Pakistan went 39 legal deliveries without a boundary.
Even though the consequent chase appeared to be a walk in the park, the simmering tensions between the sides rose to the surface on the odd occasion. India’s batters appeared to be extra mindful to keep reassuring each other as the players from the two sides engaged with each other for the first time in more than one-and-a-half matches.
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Now Samson goes
This will raise questions about India's experiment with Sanju Samson in the middle order, which is not his natural role. He is bowled for 13 off 17. Are they better off playing Jitesh Sharma if there is no room for Samson in the top three?
India need 24 off 20. Hardik Pandya walks in.
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Samson, Varma in a slowdown
India haven't exactly found it easy since the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. Neither of them is up at a run a ball, the partnership is 22 off 21, and India need 27 from the last four. Still a cruise, but not as emphatic as it looked like when Abhishek batted.
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Abhishek Sharma leaves India in charge
Abhishek Sharma has finally fallen for 74 off 39, holing out to long-on, but he has left India only 49 off 46 to get. However, Pakistan will hope they can create an opening as India have two new batters in the middle now.
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Suryakumar falls for a duck
Suryakumar Yadav has been anxious to play the flick from wide outside off to behind square on the leg side. First ball: misses against Faheem Ashraf. Second ball: defends. Third ball: tries the flick again, and the ball flies off the back off his bat to deep third for a catch. India 106 for 2 in 10.3 overs.
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Gill falls, but India in charge
Shubman Gill has had a long break getting some treatment, prompting the umpires to call for drinks at 9.4 overs. Faheem Ashraf follows it up with a lovely delivery that seams back in appreciably, and Gill is bowled for 47 off 28. India 105 for 1 in 9.5 overs.
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Abhishek gets to fifty, blows kisses
With an incredibly timed cover-drive, a drive with no follow-through, Abhishek Sharma gets to fifty off just 24 balls. There is no anger in his celebration even as Suryakumar Yadav looks more animated than he has ever done as he gets up on his feet. Abhishek, though, blows a kiss to someone in the crowd. India 96 for 0 in eight overs, absolutely cruising this.
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India soar even as temperature rises
Things are testy out in the middle with Abhishek Sharma and Haris Rauf right in each other's face but after Shubman Gill has pulled him imperiously for four more. India 53 for 0 in five overs, and the umpires control things quickly. Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh immediately rush onto the field with a drink, just reassuring them they are doing well and they are not alone.
Abhishek and Gill then take apart Saim Ayub to end the powerplay at 69 for 0, their best against Pakistan, and also the best powerplay of this Asia Cup.
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Gill, Abhishek punish Pakistan
There has been a bit of needle around, especially when Shaheen Shah Afridi has bowled, but India have been the only winners so far. Shubman Gill has gone after Afridi's second over, and then with his eyes pointed to Afridi where he just hit him. Abhishek has taken apart Abrar's mystery spin. The two childhood friends have been extra vigilant to just keep reassuring each other. There seems to be some tension around, but India well ahead of the chase right now. India 43 for 0 in four overs.
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India start with a six
First ball of the chase, Shaheen Shah Afridi tries the bouncer, and the Abhishek Sharma nonchalantly hooks him over fine leg for a six. And for the first time in one-and-a-half matches, there might have been a bit of a verbal exchange between the teams. Nothing ugly, nothing out of hand. India 9 for 0 after one over.
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Pakistan get just 171
Pakistan got to their highest score batting first against India, 171. If India win, it will be the highest successful chase of the tournament. Yet, it looked insufficient after the start Pakistan had. They scored just 80 runs in the back 10 despite being just one down at the halfway mark.
There was a period of 39 legal deliveries without a boundary leading up to the death overs, which completely derailed what looked like a promising innings that could finally give us a game t5o remember. What will frustate pakistan even more is that they had got the better of the spin threat, hitting three sixes in the first three middle overs, but succumbed to the sixth bowler, Shivam Dube.
Dube ended up with figures of 4-0-33-2, including the wickets of the two set batters, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub, batting at No. 3. Farhan, who reached 51 off just 34 balls, ended up with just 58 off 45. It was only Faheem Ashraf's 20 off 8 in the end that gave Pakistan respectability.
Pakistan, the slowest side bar Oman and UAE in the middle overs this Asia Cup, looked set to correct those numbers, but Dube's breakthrough and the quality of Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav proved to be too big a challenge. Varun went for just 25 in four overs, and Kuldeep returned figures of 4-0-31-1.
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Comical run-out, then a sitter dropped
Probably assuming the ball is dead, Mohammad Nawaz is loitering outside the crease at the striker's end when Suryakumar Yadav from mid-off throws down the wicket. Faheem Ashraf, the new batter, hits a six first up but then Shubman Gill drops the easiest of the three catches have gone down today. Pakistan start the 20th over at 157 for 5 with one extra man in the circle because of the slow over rate.
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Varun 4-0-25-0
He has bowled with little luck but great skill and accuracy. His last over, the 16th, has gone for just two. The batters are not even attempting boundaries against him. It has been 39 legal deliveries in the middle overs without a boundary. They are just 121 for 4 in 16 overs.
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Dube strikes again
This is checking a big box for India. Under a bit of pressure, and their sixth bowler is coming good. Shivam Dube has taken both set batters in Saim Ayub and now Sahibzada Farhan. He has bowled smartly, giving them no pace to work with and staying wide of their reach. Eventually he has a frustrated Farhan slogging at him and losing his bat and his wicket in the process. Since reaching his fifty, Farhan has scored just 7 off 11 balls. Pakistan 115 for 3 in 14.1 overs. Still no boundary since Farhan's fifty came up.
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Pakistan get stuck again
21 Number of legal balls, at the end of the 13th over, that Pakistan have gone without a boundary. And with the first ball of the 14th over, the pressure has brought the wicket. Talat tries a reverse-sweep off Kuldeep, and is caught at short third. Pakistan 110 for 3 in 13.1 overs.
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Dube gets Ayub
Pakistan have done well against India's spinners in the middle overs for a change, but they have now lost a wicket to Shivam Dube in his first over. Nothing special about the delivery, just short of a length and straight, and Ayub has looked to pull and top-edged it to fine leg. Abhishek Sharma runs in and dives forward to take the catch. That will make him feel better. Pakistan 93 for 2 in 10.3.
Hussain Talat gets promoted ahead of Salman Ali Agha, maintaining the right-left combination.
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Farhan gets to fifty off 34 balls
Sahibzada Farhan has got to his fifty with a massive six off a flat short ball from Axar Patel, depositing it way behind the deep midwicket fence. He has upped his strike-rate gradually, and is an even 150 at this moment. Pakistan 91 for 1 in 10 overs.
Not sure if he does it often, but Farhan has just pulled out a gunshot celebration for his fifty.
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Farhan, Ayub look to mend middle overs
Pakistan have been slower than all sides bar UAE and Oman in the middle overs of this tournament, not even a run a ball. However, here Farhan and Ayub have managed to hit three sixes off Kuldeep and Varun in the first three of the middle overs. They are now 83 for 1 in nine overs.
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Pakistan's highest powerplay against India
55 Number of runs Pakistan have scored in the powerplay, their highest against India. Farhan is 29 off 21, and Bumrah has gone for 34 in three overs, the most he has gone for in a powerplay in all T20 cricket.
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Pakistan still not picking Varun
Varun Chakravarthy has been introduced in the powerplay again, and he has troubled both the batters. He should have had Saim Ayub, but Kuldeep Yadav dropped him at short fine. The striking thing is that neither Sahibzada Farhan nor Ayub is picking him out of the hand, and both are just slog-sweeping. An outside edge on one of them brings them four. Pakistan 42 for 1 in 5 overs.
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Pandya gets Zaman
Fakhar Zaman's good start is short-lived. A slower offcutter from Hardik Pandya has ended the innings, but not in the manner you expect from slower offcutters. This has taken the outside edge from a fairly defensive shot, and has still carried to the keeper. Replays show it has only just carried, but it is enough. Zaman is gone for 15 off 9. In comes Saim Ayub at 21 for 1 in 2.3 overs.
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Zaman gives Pakistan decent start
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That is the second over, bowled by Japsirt Bumrah to Fakhar Zaman. He has injected some positivity into the opening after a run-a-ball first over. Zaman has danced down t5he wicket against Bumrah twice, scoring six off those two shots.
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Zaman opens for Pakistan
Poor Saim Ayub, who has not been able to catch a break when opening the innings, has been relieved of the duties of opening the innings. Fakhar Zaman is opening for Pakistan with Sahibzada Farhan. India, again, give the new ball to Hardik Pandya.
Ayub is padded up so he could be lined up for No. 3.
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Bumrah, Varun back as India bowl
Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to field keeping in mind the dew in Dubai. He said there was a lot of dew around when they trained on the eve of the match. India went back to their first-choice XI, bringing back Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy. Out went Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, who played against Oman once India had ensured their qualification for the Super Fours stage. As expected, Axar Patel was fit for the match after he went off the field with a blow to the head during the game against Oman.
Pakistan, who made the mistake of batting first last Sunday, were looking to correct themselves had they won the toss, but this time they didn't have the opportunity to decide. Pakistan made two changes themselves, bringing in, Husain Talat and Faheem Ashraf for Hasan Nawaz and Khushdil Shah. That meant Haris Rauf stayed in the XI. Both Talat and Ashraf are seam-bowling allrounders.
The captains didn't shake hands at the toss nor did the match referee Andy Pycroft.
Pakistan 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Agha (capt.), 5 Mohammad Haris (wk), 6 Hussain Talat, 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed
India 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt.), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
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The myth and math of Saim Ayub
More on Saim Ayub: is he a batter or a bowler, Danyal Rasool ponders.
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Team updates
Axar Patel didn't finish the last match after he landed awkwardly on his head while fielding, but there has been no indication so far that he is not available to play this game. If he does indeed play, India should go back to the XI that took on Pakistan last Sunday.
Pakistan brought in Haris Rauf and Khushdil Shah for their match against UAE, but Rauf wasn't very effective with the ball. Let's see how Pakistan tackle this one. And do they keep insisting on batting first as they did last Sunday?
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Rules of engagement
Just a recap on what has been the biggest story from this Asia Cup. India have followed their government's policy to not avoid playing Pakistan in multi-nation tournaments, but they have also not engaged in any pleasantries or handshakes. That after Suryakumar Yadav shook hands with the PCB chief, who also happens to be Pakistan's Minister of Interior, at the launch event. The reaction in mainstream media was overwhelming, which might have played a significant role in how India behaved during the match against Pakistan.
Pakistan have not liked that it is something enforced/communicated/executed by the match referee, and that too without notice. They have threatened to pull out of the tournament if the match referee is not removed, but eventually better sense has prevailed. Then they have skipped press conferences.
An uneasy pact of no aggression but also no engagement hangs over this match. One can only hope the next week remembers this match for cricketing reasons and not otherwise.
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Encore time
It's a Sunday, it must be India vs Pakistan at the Asia Cup. India remain dominant, but Pakistan will hope that the short duration of the game, the raised stakes, and some luck reduce the gap between the two teams. We are back in Dubai. The tournament is at a stage when you can't really afford errors. One mistake could end up being your last. Bangladesh have already upset Sri Lanka. Anything is possible. Let's go: India vs Pakistan, part 2.
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