OPEN AND SHUT CASE
Openers Rohit and Shikhar put India on course to an easy victory
Dubai, Sept. 23: Pakistan produced an improved batting performance, led by India’s nemesis Shoaib Malik, scoring 237 for 7 in a ‘Super Four’ encounter of the Asia Cup here Sunday.
In reply, India were cruising at 208 without loss after 33 overs at the time of printing this edition. Shikhar Dhawan was batting on 113 while Rohit Sharma was giving him company on 94.
Earlier, veteran Malik scored 78 off 90 balls and added an invaluable 107 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (44 off 66 balls) to enable Pakistan post a fighting total. The Pakistan innings could be segregated into three distinct parts. A slow start where India made inroads followed by solid middle-overs batting before failing to utilise the launch pad fully with Jasprit Bumrah (2/29 in 10 overs) being brilliant at the death. India once again started well with Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s penchant for getting DRS reviews right after Yuzvendra Chahal (2/46 in 9 overs) got his first wicket by trapping Imam ul Haq (10) in front of the stumps. Fakhar Zaman (31) was set but lost his footing trying to sweep Kuldeep Yadav (2/41 in 10 overs) to get leg before.
The replays showed that the ball hit his gloves first but Pakistan didn’t take a review. Babar Azam was run-out when his skipper got a call for single wrong as Pakistan were reduced to 58 for three.
However it was the Malik-Sarfraz combination that provided the launch pad with their sensible approach during the middle overs. The seasoned duo kept on rotating the strike, hitting the boundaries and sixes whenever given an opportunity.