The high-octane India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 clash was spoiled by incessant rains at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 2. After India’s innings, rain continued to frustrate the groundsmen, players, and fans of both teams. Not a single delivery was bowled in the second innings and the match was abandoned with India and Pakistan sharing points.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first in overcast conditions. Rohit's struggle against left-arm pacers continued. Rohit failed to pick the ball coming in and got bowled for a score of 11. Virat Kohli got off the mark with a boundary but played on a delivery from Afridi.
Playing his first ODI after more than eight months, Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat at no.4. Afridi hit a few boundaries off Rauf but then got caught at mid-wicket trying to play a pull shot. A few overs later, Shubman Gill’s troubled stay at the crease came to an end as he played on a delivery from Rauf.
India were reduced to 66/4 in the 15th over. Replacing an injured KL Rahul in the side, Ishan Kishan tried to steady the ship with Hardik Pandya. They succeeded in doing so as Pakistan Babar Azam introduced spinners from both ends and the ground fielding was mediocre.
Kishan hit his fourth consecutive ODI half-century. Pandya played himself in and accelerated later. Both the batters found boundaries at ease and at one point it seemed that India would post a total in excess of 300. But Kishan struggled with cramps as he neared his century on the Asia Cup debut. The wicketkeeper-batter mistimed a pull shot and got caught. He scored 82 runs from 81 balls including nine fours and two sixes.
Kishan’s 82-run knock is the highest individual score by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter against Pakistan in ODI Asia Cup history. He shared a 138-run partnership with Pandya, the highest for India for the fifth wicket against Pakistan in ODIs.
After Kishan's wicket, all eyes were on Pandya. He hit Rauf for three fours in an over. Afridi was brought back into the attack and he got the better of the all-rounder with a slower ball. He scored 87 runs from 90 balls including seven fours and a six. In the same over, he got the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja as well.
In the next over, Naseem Shah got the wicket of Shardul Thakur as he played across the line and got caught inside the 30-yard circle. While Kuldeep Yadav struggled, Jasprit Bumrah hit a few boundaries to entertain the crowd and get crucial runs for India. In the penultimate over, Shah got the wickets of Kuldeep and Bumrah as India got all out for 266 from 48.5 overs.
India will now face Nepal in their next Group A clash at the same venue on September 4. India need a big win if they want to finish at the top of the table.
