India beats Pakistan by 8 wickets in Asia Cup
INDIA was rarely tested in a dominating eight-wicket win over traditional rival Pakistan in their group match of the Asia Cup on Wednesday.
At Dubai International Stadium, captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired when a disciplined Indian bowling attack wrapped up the Pakistan innings for a meagre 162 in 43.1 overs. India’s reply was led by its rampant captain Rohit Sharma, who raced to 52 in just 39 balls and added 86 runs in 13 overs with Shikhar Dhawan for the opening stand.
They achieved the target in the 29th over, losing just the two openers. The result was inconsequential as both teams have already qualified for the round-robin Super Four stage following wins in their respective opening group matches against Hong Kong.
If India’s opening bowling attack was sensational, the opening batsmen dazzled the sold-out crowd.
“We were disciplined right from the start,” Sharma said. “We didn’t want to make things easy for them.”
Sharma smashed six boundaries and three sixes, but departed soon after reaching his half-century, misreading the first ball from spinner Shadab Khan and getting bowled off his pads.
Pakistan coach Micky Arthur acknowledged that his side was outplayed in all departments of the game.
“We were below par today,” he said. “What was very disappointing was that we batted outside our roles.”
India made two changes to the team that won against Hong Kong. Pakistan fielded an unchanged eleven after their eight-wicket win over Hong Kong on Sunday. AP