Pakistan claimed crucial wickets and slowed India’s scoring after a rapid opening assault in the Asian Games T20 final.
Pakistan fought back strongly after India’s explosive start in the Asian Games T20 final on Saturday, taking key wickets and restricting the scoring rate during the middle overs.
India were 133 for five after 14.1 overs when captain Shreyas Iyer was dismissed by left-arm spinner Abrar Ahmed. Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan took a sharp catch at extra cover after Iyer attempted to make room and steer the ball over the fielder. Iyer scored 21 off 24 balls, while Tilak Varma remained at the crease.
India had raced to a fast start after winning the toss and electing to bat. Abhishek Sharma attacked Pakistan’s bowlers with sixes against Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Ahmed Daniyal and Abrar Ahmed, moving past 40 within the first five overs as India pushed the run rate above 12.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also struck two sixes during Masood’s expensive second over before being dismissed by Saim Ayub. Sanju Samson was then caught at mid-on off a short delivery from Ahmed Daniyal, Pakistan’s only frontline seamer in the match.
Pakistan began to regain control after the drinks break. Arafat Minhas bowled Ishan Kishan for 20 when the ball turned sharply back into the batter and struck the top of off stump. India’s scoring rate subsequently fell below 10 for the first time since the second over.
Sufyan Moqim and Masood had helped maintain pressure during the preceding overs, while Pakistan also had opportunities to take wickets missed in the field. Two skied catches, one each from Abhishek and Iyer, were put down as India attempted to maintain their attacking approach.
The match began with India winning the toss and opting to bat. There was no handshake between the two captains at the toss as far as could be seen on television.
Pakistan made one change to their lineup, bringing Saad Masood in for Mohammad Wasim Jnr. India retained the side that defeated Sri Lanka in the semifinal.
India’s XI was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan’s XI was Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Saad Masood, Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Moqim.
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