India win easily

Suryakumar Yadav picked his spots against spin

against Pakistan by 7 wickets in Asia Cup clash

India romped to a 7-wicket win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup yesterday as the innings, powered by a quickfire 31 off 13 of Abhishek Sharma and 47-run innings by skipper Suryakumar Yadav, never seemed destined to falter chasing the paltry 127-run target by Pakistan. Saim Ayub was the best bowler for Pakistan, taking 3 wickets.

Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s late flourish helped Pakistan get to a respectable 127/9 in a match where they almost were in a danger of skittling out before putting 100 on the board. The Indian spinners were almost unplayable as Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel took 3 and 2 wickets apiece while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya had Pakistan reeling in the early going with quick wickets.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India in Dubai with both teams retaining the same playing XIs from their last matches. This is the first time since the Pahalgam terror attacks that these two sides are facing off with India skipper Suryakumar Yadav even forgoing the customary handshake with Pakistan captain Salman Agha at the toss in a gesture of silent protest. In strictly cricketing terms, India and Pakistan are both fielding young sides but they are on two very different stages of development. It’s a game that will not have the usual stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
  (Agencies)