The highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s stage was played over two days on September 10 and 11. India defeated Pakistan by a commanding margin of 228 runs.
Virat Kohli struck 122* and added an unbroken 233 runs for the third wicket with KL Rahul, who also scored 111*, as India registered a massive 356/2 in 50 overs. Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill each made a fifty and the opening wicket partnership totaled 121 runs. The score was far beyond Pakistan’s ability to attain, especially at a location where 300 had never been chased down, therefore the Indian team’s batting display was flawless.
However, Pakistan’s batting collapsed in the face of outstanding pace bowling performances from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj up front, and Kuldeep Yadav then stepped in with 5/25, limiting Pakistan to 128 runs while two of their players were out injured. India’s victory over Pakistan in ODIs was their largest-ever margin of victory, 228 runs in Asia Cup 2023.
The game amused followers of one nation, but it also posed some difficult questions and provided some satisfying answers. The five lessons learned from the India vs. Pakistan Super 4s match are listed below.
Asia Cup 2023- 5 takeaways of IND vs Pak:
5. Babar Azam’s decision to bowl first:
After winning the toss, Babar Azam chose to bowl first, which turned out to be a costly move for his team. The likelihood of rain had a significant impact on the decision because the DLS technique and scores would be used, which would greatly favour the team batting second.
Babar would have anticipated his bowlers to do the same thing here because they had held India to 266 when they last met in Pallekele for the Asia Cup. However, the pitch and the environment were different.
In their 121-run stand, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill defeated Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf early on and eliminated the threat of early wickets. It is safe to assume that Azam’s choice to bowl first had a tremendous negative impact.
4. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli’s strategy:
When India resumed their innings on the reserve day, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were the two batters who had not been struck out the previous night, and they both developed a plan.
In addition to Haris Rauf missing time with a side strain, Naseem Shah also missed time with a shoulder injury. This allowed Kohli and Rahul to start off by seeing off a few overs before launching a massive blow. That’s exactly what the two seasoned hitters accomplished.
They maintained a high pace throughout the roughly 26 overs they still had left, and once the final 10 overs started, both players scored runs at will as India scored 209 runs in the final 26 or so overs to put a massive 356/2 on the scoreboard.
3. Spinner Iftikhar Ahmed in the death overs:
With Naseem Shah also hurt and Haris Rauf unable to bowl, many would argue that Pakistan was already at a disadvantage. As a result, captain Babar Azam was forced to respond to Iftikhar Ahmed’s occasional spin.
Salman Ali Agha was in the starting lineup, but Babar threw the ball to Iftikhar Ahmed, who had to bowl in crucial innings and was often attacked for runs. In 5.2, Ahmed scored 52 runs. Furthermore, Babar received little relief when his top spinner Shadab Khan gave up 71 runs in his 10 overs.
Many people questioned Babar’s decision to give Iftikhar the ball in the final overs while not even considering Salman Ali Agha. This was a significant error on the part of the Pakistani captain, who came out as illiterate when Kohli and Rahul began amassing runs mercilessly in the final 10 overs.
2. Pakistan not utilising spin:
The way Babar Azam handled his spinners Shadab Khan, Salman Ali Agha, and Iftikhar Ahmed was another factor in the Pakistani bowling unit being destroyed for 356 runs in 50 overs. First of all, it was debatable to choose Faheem Ashraf above Mohammad Nawaz as the all-around player.
Nawaz had previously performed well against India, but Babar Azam preferred to field a side with four pacers. The vice skipper went for 71 runs in 10 overs despite one maiden and taking one wicket after being hammered by Rohit Sharma right from the outset. Babar did not encourage Salman Ali Agha to attack; instead, he gave the ball to Iftikhar in the last overs, who allowed 52 runs to be scored in 5.2 overs.
However, when Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and others early on softened the Pakistani hitters, Rohit Sharma unleashed Kuldeep Yadav on them. By weaving a web around the Pakistan hitters, Kuldeep shone and demonstrated that he was the solution to the issue. Kuldeep finished with a 5/25 in 8 overs and 33 dot balls. Rohit Sharma deserves recognition for effectively using his trump card.
1. KL Rahul at 4 ahead of left-handed Ishan Kishan:
KL Even though Rahul only learned he was playing Pakistan five minutes before the toss, he still managed to seize the moment and capitalise on it. The genius of Rohit Sharma, though, was something that a lot of people overlooked.
Many had anticipated Ishan Kishan to come out to bat at number four for India against the Pakistani spinners, but Rahul instead took the field. But Rahul, who has recently played brilliantly at No. 4 or below in ODIs, demonstrated that even he could play the spin.
Rahul stepped up while the squad was under pressure while playing in an international game after a lengthy absence. He broke a record with Virat Kohli and struck a fantastic century. Rahul’s sixth ODI century was much-needed, and he also held down wickets during Pakistan’s innings to demonstrate that he was in great shape and ready for the World Cup.
So, this was all about the top 5 takeaways from the India vs. Pakistan of Asia Cup 2023. Also read, Cricketer MS Dhoni attends the US Open 2023 men quarter-finals.
