Kuldeep Yadav fought back with the ball after a challenging start as his 4-wicket haul including 3 in an over restricted Pakistan to 146. Pakistan through Sahibzada Farhan were off to a great start and they reached 113/1 at one stage. But then the collapse happened. The collapse meant Pakistan are a few runs short in the middle. But anything can happen in this game of cricket.
Sahibzada Farhan gives Pakistan a solid start in the powerplay
Put into bat first, Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman came out for Pakistan while Shivam Dube had ball in hand for India. Farhan made his intentions clear as he hit a boundary over mid-on. Jasprit Bumrah took the ball from the other end. Farhan took the attack to him as he sliced it over extra cover for a boundary. Dube continued and was hit for a boundary by Fakhar Zaman as he ramped him over short third man.
Farhan continued the attack to Jasprit Bumrah by clearing his front leg and muscled it over midwicket. Farhan then took the attack to Bumrah as he thumped him over long-off for the maximum. Farhan survived a close RUN OUT call as well as Pakistan were in cruise control.
Varun Chakaravarthy was introduced into the attack. He bowled a decent first over. Axar Patel was introduced into the attack to bowl the final over of powerplay. Farhan hit the last ball of the powerplay by flat batting it over mid-off for a boundary to end the over and powerplay. Pakistan were in a great position at 45/0 at the end of 6 overs of powerplay and the middle phase will now be crucial for India going forward.
India strike back with quick wickets after Farhan gets to his fifty
Kuldeep Yadav was introduced into the attack after the powerplay. Farhan took him on and deposited the half-tracker from Kuldeep over square leg for the maximum. Axar Patel continued as Farhan took the attack to him as well. Farhan slog swept him over midwicket region for a boundary. Kuldeep continued as Fakhar took him on and slogged it across the line over deep midwicket for the maximum.
Farhan then got to his fifty off 35 balls and it was his second fifty against India and fifth overall. Varun Chakaravarthy came back into the attack. Farhan hit him over Abhishek at long-on as the ball cleared him for the maximum. But Varun hit back getting rid of Farhan for 57 off 38 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
Varun bowled a good length delivery outside off-stump. The googly that turned back in a shade and bounced a bit to cramp Farhan as he rocked back to go bang against Varun. There is not enough space to time the ball perfectly as he hit it flat and straight to Varma in the deep. Farhan was angry and showed his frustration. Saim Ayub came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. After 10 overs, Pakistan were well-placed at 87/1.
Shivam Dube came back into the attack after the break. Ayub hit Dube for a boundary through short midwicket region. Ayub was not done yet as he hit Dube by swivelling past short fine leg for a boundary. Tilak Varma came into the attack next. Zaman charged down the track and slammed it over the bowler’s head for a boundary. The 100 came up for Pakistan in 11.2 overs. Kuldeep returned and got rid of Ayub for 14 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Kuldeep Yadav bowled a full ball leg break with pace on the ball. Ayub squat a bit and looked to play it on the back foot. He slashed it and got the outer half of the bat as it looped to backward point. Bumrah does well to dive forward and completed the catch. Mohammad Haris came out to bat next. Axar returned and got rid of Haris for a silver duck.
Axar bowled a good length delivery on the middle stump which gripped on the surface and spun away. Haris came down the track and looked to go inside out over extra cover. He was nowhere near the pitch of the ball and he went through with the shot. He checked his lofted drive and holed out to wide long-off where Rinku Singh took the catch. Captain Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next and got off the mark.
Varun came back to bowl the 15th over. Fakhar hit him for the maximum over long-on. Varun had the last laugh as he got rid of Zaman for 46 off 35 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name. He pushed another googly wide outside off-stump on a fuller length. Zaman was on the front foot but he was not close to the line of the ball or the pitch of the ball. He threw his hands at it and ended up slicing it to backward point. The ball ballooned to Kuldeep Yadav who backtracked a yard or two before taking the catch. Hussain Talat came out to bat next and got off the mark as well.
Pakistan at the end of 15 overs were 128/4 as India had roared back into the contest with big 5 overs to come now.
Kuldeep Yadav’s 3 wickets in a single over triggers a collapse that sees Pakistan getting bowled out for 146 in 19.1 overs
Axar Patel came back into the attack even as SKY”s appeal for obstructing the field was ignored as the batter did not deliberately change side. But Axar got rid of Hussain Talat for 1 off 2 balls. He bowled full on the middle stump. Talat sat down on one knee for a slog sweep. He played across the line without getting close to the pitch of the ball and got a top edge that shot up towards backward point. Samson called for it and took a fine catch in the end. Mohammad Nawaz came into bat next. Axar finished his spell. Kuldeep Yadav came back into the attack to bowl his final over.
He struck straightaway getting rid of Salman Ali Agha for 8 off 7 balls. He bowled good length delivery from over the wicket on the leg stump where the leg break spun in. Salman stepped down the track and looked to heave across the line without even reaching to the pitch of the ball. He played with the spin and was in no position to play the ball from the position. He gave it his all but the leading edge went towards short midwicket region. Samson called for it and took a great catch as he dived to complete the catch. Shaheen Afridi came into bat next. He was given OUT but he reviewed it to get it overturned. Then later on in the same over, Kuldeep got rid of him once again by DRS overturning the decision. Shaheen went for a bronze duck.
Kuldeep Yadav bowled a googly full pitching outside off-stump spinning into the middle stump. Afridi looked to get across his off-stump and got down on one knee and spreads up looking to go across the line for another slog and got hit on the pads. DRS came in and Three reds meant Shaheen went for a duck. Faheem Ashraf came to bat next.
Kuldeep Yadav got 3 in the over as Faheem fell for a duck. He tossed it up outside off-stump. Ashraf got low on the front foot but got close to the pitch of the ball as he looked to loft it downtown. No elevation as he hit it straight to long-off where Tilak took the catch. Haris Rauf came into bat next.
Bumrah returned to the attack as Rauf got a boundary away to third man region. Bumrah then knocked over Rauf for 6 off 4 balls with a boundary to his name. He bowled a yorker attacking the off-stump. He hung his bat deep in the crease and failed to get it down on time. The ball smashed the off-stump. Abrar Ahmed came to the crease next.
Varun finished his spell with a good over. Bumrah then got rid of Nawaz for 6 off 9 balls. Bumrah from around the wicket bowled a fuller length ball, Nawaz stayed in the crease and looked to hit over midwicket with the pull shot. But he miscued it to deep midwicket where Rinku took the catch. Abrar remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls as Pakistan have been bowled out for 146 in 19.1 overs. 7 extras given by India.
India came back well with the ball. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/30 in 4 overs. Axar Patel finished with 2/26 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 2/30 in 4 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 2/25 in 3.1 overs. Shivam Dube finished with 0/23 in 3 overs. Tilak Varma finished with an over for 9 runs. This meant that India needs 147 runs to win Asia Cup 2025.
What Lies Ahead
Pakistan were cruising at 113/1 at one stage and they collapsed to 146 all out in 19.1 overs. It was a spectacular collapse that has handed the advantage to India who are playing with an extra batter today. They still have to get 147 to get this. Pakistan needs early wickets to make a match out of this. Yes, it is advantage India, but this game is over by any means.
A thrilling chase awaits us. Let’s see how things unfold in the chase.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: India Set For An Epic Showdown With Arch-Rivals Pakistan In Summit Clash