Rain washed away Pakistan’s hopes of defeating India in the 2023 Asia Cup clash in Pallekele after the second innings was washed out without a single ball being bowled. Earlier, India had been bowled out for 266.
The weather was predicted to be a buzzkill during the clash, but it largely stayed away in the first innings. There were two small rain interruptions, with one having severe effects on India as they lost Rohit and Virat Kohli soon after the resumption of play in the fifth over. Rain intervened a few overs later, but the evening remained rain-free thereafter.
After opting to bat first, India got off to a steady start, making 15-0 in the first 4.2 overs before rain halted play. When the players returned, Shaheen, who had conceded 11 runs in his first two overs, pulled back his lengths and struck immediately, dismissing Rohit and Kohli in the span of four balls.
This was the 34th time in ODIs that Rohit has been out to a left-arm pacer in ODI cricket, and it was the 21st occasion that he was dismissed in the first powerplay. Kohli has also struggled against them recently, averaging 21.75 against left-arm quicks since 2021, falling to them four times.
Gill, who was batting on 1 off 18 balls at one point, looked tentative at the crease, but comeback man Shreyas Iyer showed that there are no question marks over his fitness as he stroked his way to a nine-ball 14. He creamed Haris Rauf for two fours in the eighth over and fell to a sharp catch by Fakhar Zaman while pulling a shorter ball. Rauf also dismissed Gill, who departed for a painstaking 10 in 32.
Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya took over thereafter. The sun shone brightly on India’s innings when the spinners entered the attack, and the two took little time to get going. From 66-4 in the 15th over, Kishan and Pandya took the score to 204, scoring 138 runs in 139 balls, with both scoring individual eighties.
The knock was of significant importance for Kishan, who batted at No.5 for the first time in his career. Picked as a backup keeper-opener in the squad, the left-hander found himself in new territory after KL Rahul was ruled out of the first two Asia Cup games due to injury.
With no other keepers in the main squad (Sanju Samson is standby), Kishan had to play, and with little exposure in the middle-order, he was placed at No.3 in the team sheet, with Kohli at No.4. But Kohli walked out at his usual position and Iyer also kept his place at No.4. Kishan’s innings of 82 today threw open a reliable option for India in the middle-order going forward. He is also a left-hander and breaks the string of right-handers till No.6 on the team sheet.
Pandya has made it a habit of rescuing India from trouble and stood up again with a knock of 87. He narrowly missed out on his first ODI ton when he went on the drive against Shaheen early. His dismissal started a collapse, but a knock of 16 from Jasprit Bumrah helped add important runs, as India were all out for 266.
Shaheen was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, ending with 4-35, with Naseem Shah and Rauf ending with three wickets apiece. The spinners were a letdown, though, as they conceded 115 runs in 18 overs between them, as was Babar Azam’s captaincy. The Pakistan skipper has been criticised for easing the pressure on the India batters by taking the quicks off the attack early, and then miscalculating their overs, which would have meant that Naseem would have completed his full number of overs.
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No play was possible after the innings break, with the scheduled cut-off time being 10.27 pm local time. The match was eventually washed out half an hour before time, and both sides shared a point each.
Pakistan, who defeated Nepal by 238 runs in their first league game, have qualified for the Super Fours. India need to defeat Nepal on Monday (September 4) to advance to the next round.
