It is highly likely that India will meet Pakistan again on the final of Asia cup, but whether it happens or not, a lot of emotions run when India takes on their arch-rivals. India won the toss and chose to field, hoping that batting will get easier in the second half. Indian bowlers began well, bowling tight lines and making run-scoring difficult for Pakistan. As a result, their opening partnership did not prosper as it used to for the most part of the year.
Spin was introduced in the form of Chahal in the first power play itself and the move produced results soon. Imam Ul Haq was trapped in front of stumps and even though umpire turned it down, Dhoni wanted the review and so Rohit Sarma went for it. Imam was found trapped in front of stumps.
Fakhar Zaman, just when it seemed was finding his form, lost his balance and was given out lbw. The replays showed that the batsman had gloved the ball, but he didn’t review the decision. Babar Azam9(25) fell victim to a wrong call from Sarfaraz and lost his wicket.
Sarfaraz who promoted himself to number 4 then stitched an important Partnership with Shoaib Malik. Malik 78(90)looked well set for a century but Pakistan lost both Sarfaraz 44(62)and Malik in quick succession. Asif Ali entertained briefly with a 21 ball 30 but left a lot more to be desired. In the end, Pakistan managed a score of 237 which is not going to be easy to chase.
Indian batsmen need to play careful cricket as the pitch could get slower.
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