India restrict Pakistan to 127-9
Kuldeep Yadav led the charge as India restricted Pakistan to 127-9 in a key Asia Cup clash on Sunday as the two countries met on the pitch for the first time since a military conflict between them in May.
Electing to bat first in Dubai, Pakistan lost two early wickets and suffered from a lack of partnerships until an unbeaten cameo of 33 from Shaheen Shah Afridi put some sheen on their total.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Spinners Kuldeep and Axar Patel shared five wickets between them.
Hardik Pandya struck in the first over to dismiss opener Saim Ayub for a golden duck and fellow quick Jasprit Bumrah sent back wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris for three.
Sahibzada Farhan, who top-scored with 40, attempted to rebuild the innings along with Fakhar Zaman, who made 17, in a partnership of 39.
Axar broke the stand with his left-arm spin as he got Zaman caught out and in his next over had skipper Salman Agha out for three.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep joined forces and struck twice on successive balls to pack off Hasan Nawaz (5) and Mohammad Nawaz (0) as Pakistan slipped to 64-6 inside 13 overs.
Wickets kept tumbling, but Afridi took on the opposition attack with four sixes in his 16-ball blitz to push the total past 100 and play out their full 20 overs.
India resisted calls to boycott the T20 clash between the nations, who have not played in any bilateral series since deadly attacks in Mumbai in 2008 were blamed on Pakistan militants.
The hostilities in May this year left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.
Pakistan bat first against India in Asia Cup clash
Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bat first in their much-anticipated Group A clash against India at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Both sides have gone with an unchanged XI from their previous match, and are betting on spin to do the trick. Salman Ali Agha's Pakistan have gone with two wrist spinners in Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed while the Suryakumar Yadav-led India have opted for the spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.
India thrashed UAE by nine wickets in their opening fixture while Pakistan cruised to a 93-run win over Oman.The arch rivals have faced off 18 times overall in Asia Cup, with India leading with 10 wins to Pakistan's six.
The last time the two teams faced off in a T20 iteration of the tournament, Pakistan won by five wickets in 2022.
The buildup to this India-Pakistan clash has been marred by the geopolitical tension between the nation, with many in India calling to boycott the game.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
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