The last Asia Cup match between India Vs Pakistan was held on Sunday, 10 September 2023 at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. This was the Super Four – Match 3 of the Asia Cup, 2023. India won the toss and decided to bat first.
India scored 356 runs for 2 wickets in 50 overs.
Pakistan scored 128 runs for 10 wickets in 32 overs.
Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav played pivotal roles in India’s most significant victory over Pakistan.
In addition to the remarkable centuries by Rahul and Kohli, the Indian cricket team witnessed impressive half-centuries from Rohit Sharma, who scored 56, and Shubman Gill, who contributed 58 runs. These stellar performances propelled India to a commanding first-innings total of 356/2 within the allotted 50 overs.
This achievement came in the context of the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan, which resumed on Monday following a rain delay that had postponed the original start date.
Despite the match commencing one hour and 40 minutes later than scheduled due to the weather, the game retained its format as a 50-over-a-side contest. The combination of solid centuries and well-executed half-centuries showcased India’s prowess in the cricketing arena.
Jasprit Bumrah, making his return to ODI cricket after recovering from injury, showcased his brilliance by causing significant discomfort to Pakistan’s top-order batsmen with his deadly swing and seam movement. At various points in the match, Bumrah appeared unplayable, while Mohammed Siraj added to the pressure on Pakistan with his pinpoint accuracy.
Bumrah’s magic with the ball bore fruit as he had Imam-ul-Haq caught in the slips, and the momentum continued with Hardik Pandya breaking through Babar Azam’s defenses. A rain delay briefly offered Pakistan some respite, but upon the match’s resumption, Kuldeep Yadav further compounded their batting struggles.
The skilled left-arm wristspinner concluded his spell with impressive figures of 5 for 25 in eight overs, leaving Pakistan with no answers.The margin of victory, a resounding 228 runs, marked India’s most significant triumph against Pakistan in ODI cricket, highlighting their dominance in the match.
Continuing from their overnight score of 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs, India displayed an impressive batting performance on Monday, adding a whopping 209 runs in just 25.5 overs, with Rahul and Kohli being the architects of this remarkable display.
This achievement marked only the fourth instance in ODIs when India’s top four batsmen each scored fifty or more runs in a match. The absence of Rauf, who was held back as a precautionary measure on the reserve day, proved to be a setback for Pakistan as they struggled to break the partnership between Rahul and Kohli.
India Vs Pakistan Highlights
Pakistan’s woes deepened when Naseem left the field during the 49th over, marking a rare wicketless outing for him in ODIs, a departure from his usual impactful performances.
A crucial moment in the match came when Naseem missed a chance to dismiss Kohli at 60, as he misjudged a catch at deep third in the 42nd over. This let off proved costly as Kohli and Rahul proceeded to unleash a flurry of boundaries, amassing an impressive partnership of 92 runs in the final eight overs of the innings. Kohli’s innings culminated in a thrilling sequence of 4, 4, 6.
In the early phase of his innings, Kohli adhered to his typical ODI strategy of accumulating runs through singles and twos, with boundaries contributing only 54 runs to his total of 122.
On the other hand, Rahul had begun the reserve day with an aggressive display, striking the ball so powerfully that even Shadab Khan couldn’t hold onto a chance at backward point. Shadab and the part-time spinner Iftikhar Ahmed, who was filling in for Rauf, both bore the brunt of Rahul’s onslaught, while Kohli also capitalized on Iftikhar’s bowling, leaving him with figures of 5.4-0-52-0.
Rahul didn’t initially take the field for the beginning of India’s defensive innings. However, during the seventh over, he made a return to the field to assume the wicketkeeping duties from Ishan Kishan. Later in the match, Rahul had a moment where he missed a sharp chance off a deceptive wrong ‘un bowled by Kuldeep, but overall, he had a solid workout behind the stumps.
In a curious turn of events, after delivering five overs during the powerplay, Bumrah also spent some time off the field for unspecified reasons. The management’s decision to rotate players in light of this third successive day of play, particularly in the upcoming match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, remains uncertain.
By the time Hardik Pandya dismantled Babar’s stumps on Monday with a well-executed wobble-seam inducker, Pakistan’s required run rate had soared to nearly eight runs per over. It had escalated beyond nine by the time Kuldeep clean bowled Fakhar Zaman, who had scored 27 runs off 50 balls. None of the other Pakistan batters managed to surpass 25 runs in their pursuit of the target.
Kuldeep Yadav played a pivotal role in dismantling Pakistan’s middle order with his array of stock deliveries, wrong ‘uns, and sliders. He conceded only two boundaries and secured his second five-wicket haul in ODIs. His performance indicated that he could have added more wickets to his tally, but Pakistan’s number 10 and 11 batsmen were unable to participate due to injuries.
