Persistent rain forced the cancellation of the IND VS PAK Asia Cup 2023 match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.
India scored 266 in 48.5 overs, ending the game. Pakistan appeared ready to begin their run chase at 9 PM IST, but the rain returned before the umpires could confer with the captains.
Unfortunate result: IND VS PAK
The cutoff time for 20 overs was 10:27 PM, and it would have taken the grounds crew 45 minutes to get the pitch ready when the rain stopped, so the umpires chose to shake hands after an hour.
With wins in their first two Group A matches, Pakistan now has three points while India has only one. On Monday, September 4th, India will host Nepal once again.
Summary of the Match
Before that, India posted a robust 266 runs in response to Pakistan despite a blistering opening spell from Shaheen Shah Afridi. This was all thanks to the heroic efforts of Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. Kishan (82 runs off 81 balls) and Pandya (87 runs off 90 balls) put up a 138-run fifth wicket stand off 141 balls to keep the Pakistan bowlers at bay, giving their team a great chance to get off to a winning start.
India Innings Full Score Card: IND VS PAK
| India full scorecard vs Pakistan | ||||||
| Batters | Dismissals | Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | Strike Rate |
| Rohit Sharma (c) | b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 11 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 50 |
| Shubman Gill | b Haris Rauf | 10 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 31.25 |
| Virat Kohli | b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Shreyas Iyer | c Fakhar Zaman b Haris Rauf | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 155.55 |
| Ishan Kishan † | c Babar Azam b Haris Rauf | 82 | 81 | 9 | 2 | 101.23 |
| Hardik Pandya | c Agha Salman b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 87 | 90 | 7 | 1 | 96.66 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | c †Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 14 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 63.63 |
| Shardul Thakur | c Shadab Khan b Naseem Shah | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | c †Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 30.76 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | c Agha Salman b Naseem Shah | 16 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 114.28 |
| Mohammed Siraj | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Extras | (b 2, lb 2, nb 1, w 15): 20 | |||||
| TOTAL | 48.5 Ov (RR: 5.44): 266 | |||||
| Pakistan’s bowling | ||||||
| Bowler | Overs | Maiden | Runs | Wickets | Economy | DOTS |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 10 | 2 | 35 | 4 | 3.5 | 44 |
| Naseem Shah | 8.5 | 0 | 36 | 3 | 4.07 | 38 |
| Haris Rauf | 9 | 0 | 58 | 3 | 6.44 | 31 |
| Shadab Khan | 9 | 0 | 57 | 0 | 6.33 | 20 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 8 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 6.87 | 16 |
| Agha Salman | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 5.25 | 11 |
Pakistani pacers Afridi and Haris Rauf worked together to reduce India to 66 for 4 in 14.1 overs. Afridi had earlier removed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Valuable Partnership for India
Both Pandya and Kishan, who usually like whacking the bowlers around, found this to be a pretty foreign task.
The Indian duo, however, would do well to rein down their propensity for swashbuckling in light of Pallekele’s persistent mist and the high-octane bowling attack.
They have to be slow and careful when picking their shots. While Rauf (3 for 58) banged in those hefty deliveries and Afridi (4 for 35) tailed the ball in, the Indian pair drank it all up. Naseem Shah tested their awareness outside the off-stump.
Pandya and Kishan’s 50-run partnership came in only 52 balls, despite the fact that boundaries and powerful smashes were difficult to come by.
Pandya was content to support Kishan as the second batsman in their 138-run fifth wicket partnership. The left-handed batter was batting below the No. 4 spot for the first time in his career, but he seemed unfazed by the change.
BABAR AZAM Decision
The fact that the Pakistani skipper chose to use his spinners Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Salman Agha for a lengthier period of time also contributed to Kishan feeling comfortable in the middle. Kishan reached 50 off of just 54 balls, and he very nearly made it to a triple digit score.
Unfortunately, Babar was able to intercept Rauf’s massive pull inside the ring. His innings, though, may have calmed Indian team concerns over a weak middle order without KL Rahul.
Pandya took over the Indian batting after Kishan’s departure and promptly hit a six over mid-wicket off spinner Nawaz.
IND VS PAK, The Eagle
However, Afridi came back to cut short his visit. The left-arm bowler slowed the velocity of his delivery by rolling his fingers, and Pandya sent the resulting slower ball straight into Salman’s clutches at extra cover.
From that point on, the team was able to go over the 250-run mark thanks to some hefty smashes from Jasprit Bumrah. The rain returned shortly after the Indian innings concluded.
Babar is King