Asia Cup 2023: Ishan, Hardik lead India to respectable total after Shaheen Afridi wreaks havoc with ball
Asia Cup 2023: Ishan, Hardik lead India to respectable total after Shaheen Afridi wreaks havoc with ball
India reached a respectable total in their innings in the high-voltage clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday, September 2. After a disappointing start to the contest for Rohit Sharma’s men at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, a matureinnings of 87 runs from Hardik Pandya and an 82-run knock from Ishan Kishan helped India reach 266 in 48.5 overs. For Pakistan Shaheen Shah Afridi wreaked havoc after he scalped four wickets while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf ended with three wickets each.
India make poor start
The Men in Blue did not have the best of starts after rain halted the play initially. However, Shaheen Afridi would then wreak havoc with quickfire wickets of Rohit Sharma (11) and Virat Kohli (4). With India on the back foot, Pakistan further increased the pressure as they got the better of Shreyas Iyer (14) and Shubman Gill (10) reducing India to 66/4 in 14 overs. Haris Rauf got the better of the latter pair as he too joined the part for Pakistan.
Ishan, Hardik save India’s day
As India were struggling, Ishan and Hardik built a terrific 138-run stand for the fifth wicket as the Men in Blue came out of danger. Both the batters were aggressive with their approach as Ishan scored at a strike rate of 101 while Hardik was also scoring at almost 100. Ishan’s 82-run innings contained two sixes and nine fours while Hardik’s innings included one six and seven fours.
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The Mumbai Indians batter justified his selection in the team and also became the fourth wicketkeeper to score a fifty against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, joining MS Dhoni. It was also Ishan’s fourth consecutive fifty in the 50-over format, having scored three during three during the West Indies tour.
On the other hand, once Ishan and Hardik were dismissed Pakistan were back in the contest as Afridi added two more wickets to his tally. Haris Rauf also added one more to his tally while Nassem Shah was also excellent in his approach with three wickets. Interestingly, all the 10 wickets for Pakistan were scalped by pacers, highlighting their dominance with the ball.
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