Asia Cup 2023: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav played starring roles as India thrashed Pakistan by a massive margin of 228 runs in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2023 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday.
India defeated Pakistan by 228 runs thanks to Kuldeep’s second ODI five-for; Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf opted not to bat in the Pakistani chase. India clinched the top slot in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 standings with their dominant victory over Pakistan.
Pakistan suffered a significant setback when India spinner Jasprit Bumrah dismissed starter Imam-ul-Haq in the fifth over of the match, helping India defend a difficult mark of 356. Babar Azam was taken by surprise with a stunning ripper from all-arounder Hardik Pandya in the 11th over.
Mohammad Rizwan was defeated by Shardul Thakur’s peach of a bowl. Off stump was bowled around, but Rizwan closed his bat and grabbed an outside edge as the ball shaped away from him. KL Rahul easily retrieved the ball from behind the stumps. Pakistan was in serious difficulty after Rizwan left the field for two runs off of five balls.
With their incredible ball movement, the Indian pacers continue to pose difficulties for Pakistani hitters. As Pakistan’s needed run pace increased, Fakhar Zaman grew impatient. He died while attempting to challenge Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep’s longer ball was what shook the stumps. Fakhar left the game after hitting 50 balls for 27 runs.
Agha Salman suffered significant injuries in the 21st over after a ball bowled by Ravindra Jadeja struck him in the face.
Salman, the Pakistani hitter, attempted to play a sweep shot but utterly missed the ball, which was delivered by Kuldeep and caught him just in front of the stumps. Salman attempted to review, but ball tracking indicated that the leg stump would have been clipped.
Pakistan was in trouble at 111/6 after 28 overs when Shadab Khan was caught by Shardul Thakur in the deep for Kuldeep’s third wicket.
When Kuldeep took his fourth wicket of the contest and dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed for 23, he broke Pakistan’s resistance.
The match finished with India prevailing by a massive margin of 228 runs as Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who left during fielding with niggles, did not come out to bat. The Indian spinner bowled Faheem Ashraf to complete his fifer.
Earlier, in their Asia Cup Super Four match against Pakistan, India scored 356/2 thanks to Virat Kohli’s legendary performance and KL Rahul’s unrestrained century.
The half-centuries by India’s captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set the stage, and Kohli and Rahul’s unbroken 233-run partnership served as the cherry on top as the former skipper completed the innings with a maximum.
Rahul blasted a scorching 111, and Kohli concluded his knock with an unbeaten 122 off 94 deliveries.
Brief score:
India 356/2 (Virat Kohli 122*, KL Rahul 111; Shaheen Afridi 1-79) vs Pakistan 128 (Fakhar Zaman 27, Agha Salman 23; Kuldeep Yadav 5-25).
