Former India cricketer Yograj Singh lavished praise on the batting duo of Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill for forming a brilliant partnership of 105 runs that carried the Men in Blue to a 6-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Super 4 clash of Asia Cup. The two openers smacked the Pakistan bowling attack all around the stadium to make the equation easy for India and eventually t he team would reach the 172-run target with seven deliveries left to spare.
Yograj claimed that if Abhishek and Gill get going, then India can even go on to reach a target of 250. However, he reminded the duo to stick for a longer time on the crease. Notably, Gill lost his wicket in the 10th over for 47 while Abhishek departed t o the pavilion in the 13th over for 74 during the clash against Pakistan. Yograj advised the duo to bat at least till the 15th over.
“Let me tell you a very simple thing. The way Shubman Gill and Abhishek are playing, even if you have 250 runs, you will chase, but these two will have to play for 15 overs. If Shubman and Abhishek play for 15 overs, then our target is 200 runs and after that you can score 300 or whatever. But I will only say one thing to Abhishek and Yuvraj has also said it many times. Try to play for 12 to 15 overs, that’s all," Yograj told IANS.
“Look at yesterday too, we scored 100 in 9 overs. In the 10th over, we were 105 when Shubman got out and soon Abhishek, too got out. So I think they have become very dependent on each other. Shubman has got bowled twice on the same line and length of the ball. So that’s a matter of concern, he should work on that," he added.
India continue their winning streak
Meanwhile, India's victory over Pakistan on Sunday meant that they started the Super 4 stage on a high and also maintained their unbeaten streak in the ongoing tournament. This was also the second time that the Men in Blue claimed bragging rights over their arch-rivals in the current edition of Asia Cup.
India to face Bangladesh next
India will now be facing Bangladesh next in the competition and that match is scheduled to take place on September 24. On the other hand, Pakistan will be desperate to bounce back from the defeat in their next game that will be against Sri Lanka and will be held on September 23.