The rain gods may have spoiled the India-Pakistan party in Pallekele on September 2, but there was no shortage of high-octane action in the first half of the game. Here are some things you may have missed from the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Group A match.

Virat Kohli slotted at No.4 in team sheet

After much speculation around who would bat where for India, the fans were in for a surprise when their team sheet mentioned Ishan Kishan at No.3 and Virat Kohli at No.4. However, the confusion cleared when Kohli walked out with pads on for the national anthem, and came out to bat at No.3 ahead of Kishan, who batted at No.5.

#INDvsPAK

Good toss for India. Put runs on the board and let Siraj-Bumrah do the magic under lights.

Very good call to play Siraj… Shardul had to be there to strengthen some lower-order batting… pic.twitter.com/TzUay0j4jx

— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) September 2, 2023

Rohit Sharma given an early life

Rohit uppishly flicked the second ball of the match, off Shaheen Shah Afridi, and was almost caught by a diving Fakhar Zaman at square leg who got his fingertips to the ball but couldn’t hold on.

Kohli’s funny reaction to Shaheen’s delivery

Shaheen beat Rohit’s outside edge with a seaming delivery in the fifth over of the innings, surprising Kohli, who was watching intently inside the dressing room with helmet on. His eyes widened, almost comically, in anticipation of what he was going to face out in the middle.

Shaheen’s brilliant setup to dismiss Rohit

Shaheen bowled Rohit with a beautiful incoming delivery on the last ball of the fifth over of the innings, but that tells only part of the story. He got two balls to move away from the right-handed Rohit.

When he pitched the next ball at almost exactly the same spot and brought it in, Rohit – almost certainly anticipating it would leave him – had left a gap between his bat and pad: the inswinger sneaked through.

Kohli’s on-the-rise cover drive off Naseem Shah

Kohli scored just four off seven balls. But those four runs came off a trademark, on-the-rise, crisp cover drive off the bowling of a red-hot Naseem Shah on the fifth ball of the sixth over of India’s innings.

Ishan Kishan’s upper-cut for six off Haris Rauf

Soon after the second rain break, Kishan uppercut a Haris Rauf short ball for six over third man. With the score reading 52-3, it was an indication that Kishan and India weren’t going to hang back and go through the motions.

Hardik Pandya’s streaky first-ball boundary

Coming in to bat at 66-4, Pandya got lucky first up when a quick, full delivery from Haris Rauf found his outside edge and raced through to the deep-third boundary. Another wicket at that stage would have been disastrous for India.

Pandya’s slog sweep for six

After batting patiently for the majority of the innings, Pandya finally cut loose after reaching his fifty when he swept Mohammad Nawaz for a huge six in the 37th over of the innings. He went from 56 to 62, having hit just three fours previously in the innings.

Rauf’s send-off to Kishan

Rauf dismissed a well-set Kishan for 82 in the 38th over of the innings when the latter tried to force a short ball through the leg side. Haris then proceeded to give Kishan an ugly send-off that might have been reciprocated had India got a chance to bowl.

Pandya’s three-boundary over off Rauf

The very next over that Rauf bowled after the Kishan send-off, he was treated to three disdainful boundaries by Pandya, one cut through point, one glided past the wicketkeeper, and one pulled into the ground in front of square.

Shadab Khan’s brilliant catch to dismiss Shardul Thakur

Shadab ran backwards from point and dived full length to complete a brilliant catch to dismiss India’s No.8 Shardul Thakur in the 45th over, off Naseem Shah.

Jasprit Bumrah’s three boundaries of three Pakistan seamers

Just as it seemed the Indian lower order would collapse once again, Bumrah stepped up with the bat. He hit each of the three Pakistan fast bowlers for a boundary, one over mid-on and one through either side of mid-off, finishing on 16 off 14 balls.

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