Shaheen Shah Afridi claims four wickets for Pakistan, while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf each secured three wickets.
PALLEKELE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 2nd, 2023) In the highly anticipated clash of the Asia Cup 2023 at the Kandy Ground in Pallekele, India set a target of 267 runs for Pakistan on Saturday.
A robust partnership between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya propelled the Indian team to a strong position, with Ishan Kishan scoring 82 and Hardik Pandya contributing 87 runs. However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli managed only 4 runs, while Rohit Sharma was dismissed after making 11 runs from 22 balls.
Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed four wickets for Pakistan, while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf each secured three wickets. Rain interruptions disrupted the match on two occasions as both teams prepared to face off.
The early loss of wickets had put India under pressure, but the partnership of Kishan and Pandya helped alleviate the situation.
This encounter marked the first One Day International (ODI) match between the traditional rivals since their clash in the 2019 World Cup. In the context of the Asia Cup, this contest may not carry significant weight, as two out of three teams from each group advance to the Super Fours stage. The third team in India and Pakistan's group is Nepal.
Despite Pakistan being the official hosts of the tournament, the Indian government did not permit the team to travel to Pakistan. Consequently, the match had to be held at a neutral venue, Pallekele in Sri Lanka.
India's Playing XI:
India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf
