Live updates: Bhuvneshwar Kumar breaks through as he gets rid of Imam-ul-Haq and then accounts for Fakhar Zaman. Earlier, Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elect to bat first. India make two changes as bring in Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya replacing Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur. The captains have played down all the hype, they have tried to sound very grounded and casual about the match, but the captains know as much as anyone that it is no normal day. The usually empty stands at the Dubai International Stadium will be teeming with spectators, all roads would be leading to the stadium, there will be no grey shade, there will be no calm, India take on Pakistan and a rivalry which has been dormant for the past 15 months will take shape again.
Follow India vs Pakistan, Live Cricket Score in Asia Cup 2018 here:
An absolute peach from Kuldeep
Tossed up, it had the revs, it dipped even as Babar Azam comes down the track, looks to work it away through square leg, the ball pitches and spins away, clips the top of off. A delightful delivery
Pakistan have looked to press on after the run-rate
PAK have managed to step up a gear since the end of the 1st powerplay.
In 6 overs they’ve managed 35 runs (RR: 5.83 RPO), prior to that they were going at 2.50 RPO.
A look at the Manhattan at the end of the 16th over: –
These are taxing conditions
Malik and Babar have looked to rotate the strike, but the weather will take a toll on the players.
Spinners have to keep things tight as Pakistan look to increase the run-rate.
Oh dear, Pandya has collapsed after that delivery
He delivered that ball and then went down in a heap, he is being stretchered off the ground. Not very good for India, not very good for Pandya. Big jolt!
Good attacking play by Pakistan
They are keeping the bad balls away, rotating the strike, but are putting away loose deliveries. Not allowing the bowlers to string dot balls together. Pakistan have the momentum, as of now,
Oh dear, Dhoni has grassed the catch
Length ball outside off, Malik looks to run it away to third man, plays it too fine, Dhoni dives to his right, gets the gloves under the ball but then the ball slips out. Was not a very difficult chance, to be very honest
50-run stand between Malik-Azam
This is the first 50+ run stand for PAK v IND for the 3rd wicket in 8 intervening ODIs.
Last one was by Nasir Jamshed/Younis Khan at Chennai in 2012.
Spinners under pressure
Malik is a superb player against the spinners. He uses his feet so precisely, down the track to Kuldeep and then belts it high and mighty over deep mid-wicket
Shoaib Malik – The perennial thorn in India’s flesh
He is among the leading run-scorers for Pakistan against India in ODIs. With 1661 runs against India, the all-rounder is the third highest run-scorer among among Pakistan cricketers. In 12 matches in Asia Cup, Malik has scored 575 runs at an average of 63.88. And against India he has peeled off 307 runs at an average of 153.50.
End of the 1st powerplay
Brilliant start by the Indian bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took charge of proceedings and sent back the openers. However, Malik and Babar Azam are looking to calm things down.
Sedate phase for Pakistan
Azam and Malik are trying to see off this new ball spell from Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah. They are looking to rotate the strike and share pressure.
Things will get easier as the match progresses.
Pakistan hitting back
Bhuvi has been very tight, but now Babar Azam takes charge. He waits for a length ball and then thumps it straight back. He then rocks back on the backfoot and the slams the next ball through the covers. Impeccable balance.
Bhuvi – the spearhead
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor – HT Digital: Bhuvneshwar Kumar showing that form is temporary and class is permanent. He has put his hand up on the big day. Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal is a huge boost for India. The impact he had in the Champions Trophy final meant India needed to remove him early to get the psychological advantage. Bhuvi’s beehive is immaculate. Everything has been bowled inside the stumps. And as I write this, Shoaib Malik has creamed one through the covers. This man waits for an Indo-Pak clash more than anyone else
Zaman departs, India on the charge
Short of a good length, Zaman wants to go for the pull, miscues it and the Chahal takes the catch at short mid-wicket, Danger man departs.
Bhuvneshwar has been brilliant with the new ball
1st innings in single digit score for Imam after three consecutive 50 plus scores. 5th time Bhuvneshwar has dismissed Pakistan opening batsman out of his 10 wickets against them in 8 ODIs.
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor – HT Digital: The two Indian pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, have been on the money so far. The accuracy of the bowlers forced Imam to play that weird shot and led to his downfall. Indians have raised their game for the occasion and this is already becoming a battle of attrition between two talented sides.
Bhuvi strikes
Well, what was that. Down the track, goes for the almighty heave and can only feather it back to MS Dhoni. So accurate, so calm, India draw first blood.
Maiden from Bumrah
The battle everyone has been talking about. Bumrah was persistent with his lines and lengths, no freebies and Fakhar has been forced to play it out
Sedate over, but Pakistan have been solid at the top of the order
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor – HT Digital: Pakistan’s top three batsmen have stratospheric batting averages. Fakhar Zaman has scored 1089 runs from 19 matches at an average of 72.60. While Imam-ul-Haq averages a whopping 74.24 from 10 matches, in which he has scored 4 centuries and a half-century (talk about conversions rates, phew!!). Babar Azam at number three has 2006 runs from 47 matches at an average of 54.21. This generation of Pakistani batsmen are making their presence felt at the international stage.
Bhuvneshwar with the ball
Solid line and length to begin with, back of a length angled in, Imam defends it back down the pitch.
All about gauging the pace of the surface, right now
So, we are good to go, oh yes, we are
The National Anthems have been belted out. The sun is basking in all its glory, not for the players though, the Indian team is in their huddle, all the shenanigans have been done away with.
Out walk Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq.
Khaleel Ahmed misses out despite being mighty impressive yesterday
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor – HT Digital: Dropping Khaleel Ahmed comes as a surprise after his good outing against Hong Kong. Perhaps the team management wanted to go with the experienced customers for a pressure cooker match like this one. But sometimes it helps to have young blood in your line-up, someone who is bereft of any baggage of past clashes. Hardik Pandya as the third seamer in these conditions is a weak option. Pakistan could well get a mammoth total on board. The middle overs will be crucial, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav need to pick wickets for India and not just contain the batsmen.
The major player battles
There are interesting subplots in the match and how they play out could well determine the eventual result of the match. We take a look at the important player battles in the match.
Jasprit Bumrah vs Fakhar Zaman will get us rolling.
Not a very high scoring ground
Average 1st innings total at Dubai International Stadium extrapolated over last 10 innings discarding rain affected matches and no results (Calculated before Asia Cup 2018).
Chahal – closing in on 50 ODI wickets
He needs only 2 wickets to complete 50 ODI wickets.
He will become the 37th Indian bowler, 14th spinner for India to take these many wickets.
Stat Attack
62.50%: Winning record for team fielding first is 62.50% at Dubai with 15 wins from 24 ODIs (All before Asia Cup 2018)
So finally, India have a reason to smile.
Shoaib Malik – the thorn in India’s flesh
Malik is among the leading run-scorers for Pakistan against India in ODIs. With 1661 runs against India, the all-rounder is the third highest run-scorer among among Pakistan cricketers.
Read about his impact here.
Toss – Pakistan win the toss and bat first
This is a good track and we will bat first, says Sarfraz.
“Would’ve batted first. Nevertheless we now know what we’re doing. Have to accept the fact that we were rusty against HK. They played well, showed great determination. To cross the line was a great deal. Fresh game today, guys looking forward to it. Two changes: Bumrah back, Pandya back too. Shardul and Khaleel miss out,” says Rohit Sharma.
Pitch report
No damage on the pitch, despite the game being played on the same track. It is a batting pitch, one that will have plenty of runs on offer, says Sunil Gavaskar.
Rohit Sharma – not very prolific against Pakistan
Rohit has never quite dominated the Pakistan bowling attack and has only managed to score 417 runs from 13 ODIs against Pakistan so far.
Read about the story here.
How will the Indian team line up?
Few players were rested for the match against Hong Kong, but they should be back to assume charge of proceedings.
Here is our predicted XI for the match.
The match preview
The game is the first between the sub-continent rivals since Pakistan thumped India by 180 runs in the final of the Champions Trophy at The Oval in June last year.
Read the preview here.
The Big Game is here
It is India vs Pakistan and although both teams have qualified for the next round, this one promises to be a real humdinger. Dubai has been simmering with temperatures touching mid-40s, but who cares, the stadium will be jam packed and slogans will resonate all through.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the biggest match of the tournament so far.
Source: HindustanTimes