A classy Virat Kohli knock after a superb bowling effort powered India to a five-wicket win against their arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Opting to bowl first, India skittled out Pakistan for a meagre 83 on a green top at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday.
The Indian bowlers were backed by some inspiring fielding as Pakistan folded up in 17.3 overs for their lowest Twenty20 total after batting first.
The five-time champions were stunned when Mohammad Amir reduced them to 8 for 3 in the third over. But Kohli (49) then stepped in to help his team seal the win with 27 balls to spare.
The Mirpur track offered inconsistent bounce while the bowlers from both teams left the batsmen dazed with their seam movement.
Amir trapped both Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane in front for ducks in the first over before taking out Suresh Raina (1) in his next over to reignite Pakistan’s hopes of an unlikely win.
Kohli, adjudged Man-of-the-Match, then paired up with Yuvraj Singh to brave some fine bowling and dashed Pakistan’s hopes with a 68-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami continued from either ends after Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi had run through Amir’s overs in a full burst.
Kohli laced his 51-ball innings with seven boundaries while Yuvraj dug deep at the other end, playing out 32 balls for his 14.
Kohli was unlucky to be adjudged leg-before off Sami when replays showed there was an inside edge onto the pad. Two balls later, Hardik Pandya walked back for a duck.
But Dhoni (7 not out) and Yuvraj then coasted to victory with more than four overs to spare.
Amir returned 3 for 18 while Sami took 2 for 16.
Earlier, the Indian bowlers laid the groundwork for the win. Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah bowled superb opening spells.
The Pakistan batsmen compounded their own misery by some poor shot selection and shoddy running between the wickets. Only two of their batsmen managed to reach double-digit scores.
Nehra sent Mohammad Hafeez (4) packing in the first over, having him caught behind. Sharjeel Khan (7) soon followed his partner back to the hutch after throwing his bat at a widish delivery from Bumrah. He was caught at first slip.
Pakistan then lost wickets in a cluster as debutant Khurram Manzoor (10) ran himself out before Shoaib Malik (4) and Umar Akmal (3) walked back in successive deliveries. Pakistan were left teetering on 35 for 5.
Skipper Afridi (2) failed to arrest his team’s slide when he ran himself out before a stubborn resistance from Sarfraz Ahmed (25) was ended by Ravindra Jadeja as Pakistan lost the plot.
Hardik Pandya was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning 3 for 8 in 3.3 overs. Jadeja grabbed two wickets while Nehra Bumrah and Yuvraj chipped in with a wicket each.
Brief scores:
Pakistan: 83 in 17.3 overs (Hafeez 4, Sharjeel 7, Manzoor (10), Shoaib 4, Akmal 3, Sarfaraz 25, Afridi 2, Wahab 4, Sami 8, Amir 1, Irfan o*; Pandya 3/8, Jadeja 2/11, Bumrah 1/8, Yuvraj 1/11, Nehra 1/20)
India: 85/5 in 15.3 overs (Rohit 0, Rahane 0, Kohli 49, Raina 1, Yuvraj 14*, Pandya 0, Dhoni 7*; Amir 3/18, Sami 2/16)
Man-of-the-Match: Virat Kohli (India)
source: bdnews24