Dubai : Babar Azam led Pakistan begin Super 4 encounter against arch rival India with a thrilling win by 5 wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Chasing a target of 182, Pakistan lost their skipper Babar Azam & Fakhar Zaman quickly, but in-form Mohammad Rizwan held from one end scoring sensible runs along with Mohammad Nawaz, who was playing with a hefty strike rate. With a partnership of 73 runs the pair fell , putting Pakistan in a commanding position. With the arrival of Asif Ali & Khushdil Shah, the duo played finishing cameos, accompanied by sloppy fielding and death bowling by Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pakistan chased down the target, with some added thrill in the fantastic last over by Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan avenge the defeat they suffered in the opening encounter.
Earlier in the 1st innings, Indian openers – skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went off to a flying start, after a brilliant partnership of 54 runs and their dismissal, the Indian middle order collapsed, but veteran Virat Kohli with his classy 60(44) took India to a score of 181, though he didn’t get support from the other end.
BRIEF SCORECARD
1ST INNINGS :
INDIA: 181-7(20)
Virat Kohli : 60(44)
PAKISTAN
Shadab Khan : 2/31
2ND INNINGS :
PAKISTAN: 182-5(19.5)
Mohammad Rizwan : 71(51)
Mohammad Nawaz : 42(20)
INDIA
Ravi Bishnoi : 1/26
