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Pakistan are batting first after losing the toss against India in their second high-intensity encounter of the men’s Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav elected to field after winning the toss in Dubai.
“Looks a nice track and we will like to chase,” said Suryakumar. “Just another game, keep emotions calm.”
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said, “It’s a new challenge for us.”
The Indian skipper did not shake hands with the Pakistan captain again.
Live Coverage begins:
Mid-innings analysis by Abyan Amir: The Indian bowlers have no answers to this Pakistani onslaught. The Men in Blue’s fielding has been even worse with multiple dropped chances!
Pakistan have made a mockery of both the Indian pacers and the spinners on a dry pitch that will only get better as the match continues.
Fakhar’s controversial dismissal continues to be a talking point, after the southpaw opener was given out by the third umpire and visuals showed that there was definitely room for doubt.
Over 10 — Pakistan – 83-1
Sahibzada hits Axar Patel for a huge six!
Over 9 — Pakistan – 83-1
Saim finally showing a glimpse of his old self and that should make Pakistan happy. He went down the track against Yadav and smashed him over his head for six. Sahibzada did the same and his shot flew over the long -on fence. Pakistan are taking on the Indian bowlers, dispatching the balls on merit, and reaping the rewards. Thirteen runs off the over.
8.1: Saim welcomes Kuldeep with a huge six down the ground!
The Indian bowlers have no response to this Pakistani onslaught!
8.3: The absolute domination by the Pakistani batters of the Indian attack continues as Sahibzada launches that ball into the second tier!
Over 8 — Pakistan – 61-1
7.3: FLAT SIX FOR SAHIBZADA! Tipped over the long-on boundary by Abhishek, who, along with the rest of the Indian team, is having an atrocious day in the field.
Sahibzada went after Varun and hit the first six of the innings — albeit helped by the long-on fielder. Pakistan continue with their momentum, 10 runs coming off the over.
Over 7 — Pakistan – 61-1
Kuldeep Yadav has for long been Pakistan’s tormentor and so Saim and Sahibzada are naturally wary against playing any loose shots. Five runs of his first over as Pakistan continue their solid start, thankfully.
Over 6 — Pakistan – 55-1
5.2: Sahibzada smacks that short of a length ball by Bumrah with utter disdain for four!
Pakistan are making a statement with this dominating start.
Fakhar’s controversial dismissal continues to be a talking point.
5.5: 50 up for Pakistan as yet another full toss from Bumrah. Driven past him, mid-off runs back and the batters hare back for three. Fifty up for Pakistan!
Bumrah hasn’t had the desired impact for India in his first two overs and has changed ends. It didn’t change anything for him as Sahibzada smashed him to the mid-on boundary for four and then smashed him to the mid-off fence off the last ball. Pakistan are off to a flyer in the powerplay. Thirteen runs off the over and — by the looks of it — headed to a big score.
Over 5 — Pakistan – 36-1
India bring in spin to stem Pakistan’s run flow, Varun Chakravarthy is into the attack in just the 5th over of the innings.
4.3: The Men in Blue are having a terrible day in the field as Kuldeep drops a sitter and gives Saim another life!
Celebrations in the newsroom as Saim gets an undeserved reprieve. That’s a relief!
India turned to spin after Pakistan made hay against the pacers. Varun Chakravarthy gave just one run off the first three balls he bowled and Saim took him on, an attempted sweep getting a top edge which was spilled by Yadav at fine leg. Pakistan rode their luck and another edge, this time off Saibzada’s bat, flew to the third man fence.
Over 4 — Pakistan – 30-1
Bumrah returns after being hit for 11 by Fakhar in the first over.
3.1: Sahibzada gets his first boundary, pulling Bumrah away with utter disdain.
TV replays show Fakhar seemingly upset about the TV umpire’s call. To be fair, it wasn’t clear where the ball bounced, but the TV umpire seemed to believe it bounced on the glove.
3.4: Bumrah gets smashed for four by Sahibzada, pressure on the Indian pacer as it’s a no-ball above waist height.
Sahibzada gets on the act, pulling Bumrah away for four to start the over and then slapped a full toss — adjudged to be above waist height— to the mid-wicket fence. Current run rate is a neat 9.00. Pakistan have a start and now needs to capitalise on it.
Over 3 — Pakistan – 26-1
2.2: Fakhar hits Pandya for four now!
2.3: Fakhar is out after nicking off Pandya, but that seemed like it bounced in front of the keeper’s gloves, a controversial call by the umpire. India draw first blood.
2.5: Saim finally ends his own personal boycott of the Asia Cup with a sublime boundary off Pandya.
Fakhar started the over by slashing Pandya to the point boundary, but India were soon up in celebration as the left-hander was caught on the next ball. The ball seemed to have died on its way to Samson’s gloves but the TV umpire — controversially — adjudged that it bounced off the keeper’s glove and into his hand. Saim Ayub belatedly got his first runs of the tournament, pulling Pandya away on the second ball he faced.
Over 2 — Pakistan – 17-0
1.1: Fakhar dances down the wicket to greet Bumrah and got two.
1.3: Fakhar flicks Bumrah for four, who’s under pressure from the get-go! First boundary for Pakistan.
1.4: Fakhar smashes Bumrah down the ground after dancing down the wicket. Fakhar is off to a flyer!
Fakhar shows his intentions from the start. A slow outfield prevented him from starting off with a four, but he found a boundary with a flick on the legside on the third ball and then danced down the track and dispatched Jasprit Bumrah to the long-off fence on the next ball. Solid start from Pakistan
Over 1 — Pakistan – 6-0
Pakistan shuffle batting order, with Fakhar Zaman opening instead of Saim Ayub.
The newsroom wanted Shaheen Afridi to open, so they are a bit disappointed.
0.3: The Men in Blue have given Pakistan their first chance as Abhishek Sharma drops Sahibzada at deep third-man.
0.4: Shouts of shot as Sahibzada launches Pandya down the ground, but it doesn’t go far! 2 runs taken.
Pakistan 6/0 Sahibzada gets lucky as he’s dropped by Abhishek Sharma on the third ball of the match. The Pakistan opener looked to go after Hardik Pandya, hitting him down the ground the next ball. Pakistan will be relieved they’ve ended the first over with no losses and six runs on the board.
Anthems
The Pakistani anthem is played first as the anthems are played without any incident, unlike last Sunday’s encounter.
Toss
The Green Shirts had two changes, bringing in Hussain Talat for Hassan Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf for Khushdil Shah.
The Men in Blue brought in Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy.
Teams:
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Mohammad Haris, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Build-up to the high intensity clash
The Green Shirts have a chance at redemption as they face India again today in Dubai for the Super Four stage of the Men’s Asia Cup after their last game was marred by a controversy spiralling from the neighbouring team’s refusal to shake hands with their opponents.
The Group A clash between the fierce rivals last Sunday — their first meeting since the four-day military conflict between them in May — ended on a bitter note when the Men in Blue refused to shake hands with the Green Shirts after winning the game. There were no handshakes between the captains at the toss either.
According to Reuters, Indian media have reported that the team plans to stick to its no-handshake policy for today’s clash, which is scheduled for 7:30pm PKT at the Dubai International Stadium.
Match referee Andy Pycroft, whose removal was sought by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the controversy but was denied by the International Cricket Council (ICC), is still scheduled to officiate today.
Asked about the handshake issue and Pycroft’s presence yesterday, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav changed the subject, saying, “It will be a good contest between the ball and the bat”.
He added: “Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. I think that’s the best thing to shut the noise. It’s easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult.”
India won all three of their group games, narrowly edging out a brave Oman by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi on Friday, as well as beating Pakistan by seven and the UAE by nine wickets respectively.
Suryakumar, who had seemingly politicised last Sunday’s victory by bringing up the Pahalgam terrorist attack in India-occupied Kashmir, said: “I have been very clear with all the boys. I think it’s very important if you want to do well in this tournament and going forward.
“We will have to shut a lot of noise from outside and take what is good for you.”
Despite India’s triumph in their previous encounter, Suryakumar insisted past results would count for nothing when the rivals meet again in today’s Super Four match.
“I feel our preparation has been really good leading into the tournament. We have also had three good games, so we are actually focusing on what we can do best,” he added.
“We want to follow all the good habits that we have been doing from the last two or three games. We take it one game at a time. It doesn’t give us an edge that we have played them once, and we had a good game. We have to start from scratch.”
Pakistan had cancelled their pre-match press conference yesterday, making it the second consecutive time that they did so following the handshake incident.
Last night, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Green Shirts in Dubai as they participated in warm-up exercises for today’s match.
Handshake ruckus
Earlier this week, the situation escalated to the point that the PCB was even mulling its participation in the Asia Cup after the ICC rejected its complaint seeking the removal of Pycroft, who PCB said told captain Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart before the match.
However, the situation was finally settled when, just before Pakistan’s match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, the PCB said Pycroft “apologised” to the Green Shirts’ manager and captain over the ruckus resulting from “miscommunication”.
Nevertheless, the tournament still had lingering disputes; the ICC reportedly took exception to the PCB recording Pycroft’s “apology” meeting with Pakistan team officials. The event had been marred by controversy before it even began, with calls for a boycott of the game from across the border.
