Asia Cup 2023: After Unpleasant Start Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya Help India post 267 vs Pakistan
India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023: As another edition of the ODI World Cup beckons, this time at home, the Indian team hopes to turn the tide and break the title jinx. But before that, Rohit Sharma’s men are put to the test in the Asia Cup. And their arch-rival Pakistan will be their top competitor in the continental tournament.
On Saturday, the Men in Blue started their road to Asian dominance with the high-octane match against Men in Pakistan at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy.
India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023: Toss Update
India wins the toss and opts to bat
India Playing 11: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Pakistan Playing 11: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
Rohit: We’re gonna bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but can’t think much about it. Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series. Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let’s see what we can achieve in this tournament. It’s a quality tournament with quality opposition. At the end of the day, we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back and we have three seamers with Shardul and Siraj. Got two spinners – Kuldeep and Jadeja.
Babar Azam: We would have batted first, but toss is not in our hands. We have played a lot of cricket here, so we know the conditions. Top teams are playing so Asia Cup is good. We’ll try to do our best. We are playing with the same combination, no changes. Performing well always gives you confidence, we’ll try to capitalize. It’s a high-intensity match, we’ll try to be calm and composed.
Kishan-Hardik’s 138-run partnership help India post 267 vs Pakistan
Ishan Kishan scored his fourth consecutive ODI half -century as he and Hardik Pandya powered India’s recovery after they lost four wickets in 14 overs. Pandya himself scored his 11th ODI fifty as the pair brought India back on an even keel after the Pakistan pacers ran riot early in the match.
The stand was broken by Haris Rauf after it had produced 138 runs in 141 balls when Ishan Kishan fell while trying to go for a big shot. He had started cramping up at that stage and fell on 82 off 81. Pandya had then stepped up his rate of scoring looking good for scoring a maiden ODI century.
Nevertheless, he too was dismissed by Shaheen Afridi as he picked up four crucial wickets. However, Jasprit Bumrah got the party going as he smashed 16 of 14 balls. His crucial cameo took India’s score to 266.
Naseem Shah ends with figures of 3/36 after going almost the entire match with no wickets to show for his brilliant efforts. All of India’s wickets fell to pace, in fact, the spinners never really came close to containing the batters, let alone taking any wickets.
Earlier, Pakistan’s pacers ran riot with Shaheen Afridi dismissing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli while Haris Rauf dismissed Shreyas Iyer. That led to India losing three wickets in the first 10 overs. Rauf then dismissed the struggling Shubman Gill after which Pandya and Kishan shut out the Pakistan bowlers.
Ishan Kishan hits fourth consecutive ODI fifty, emulates MS Dhoni’s feat
Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper for India, scored his fourth successive ODI fifty against Pakistan on Saturday at Pallekele during the Asia Cup 2023 match.
Kishan started India’s counterattack with a quickfire knock as the team entered the field in a difficult situation at 48 for three inside of 10 overs. The left-hander, who is regarded as India’s backup opener in the format, started his debut ODI inning at number five, taking the place of starter and starting goalie KL Rahul, who is out due to injury.
With the help of six fours and a six, Kishan needed just 54 balls to achieve his half-century. After experiencing cramping, Kishan tried to change gears but ultimately holed out for 82 off 81 deliveries.
The 25-year-old’s knock came on the back of three successive fifties recently against the West Indies. Consequently, Kishan completed his fourth consecutive ODI half-century, becoming just the second Indian wicketkeeper (after MS Dhoni) to do so.
With a century (a record-breaking 210 against Bangladesh) and six 50s, Kishan has amassed over 750 runs from 17 ODI innings.
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