IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2023, LIVE Score: India 266 all out as Afridi takes four-wicket haul

“That was our plan with the new ball. I think both (Virat and Rohit) were crucial wickets, every batter is the same for me. But I think I liked Rohit’s wicket better. The plans by our fast bowlers worked. Naseem is bowling at 150 kph, really happy with that, he’s really fast. The new ball might swing and seam, nothing much after that. It will be easier to score runs once the ball gets old (in the run chase).”

Just as the players make their way off, rain returns. The ground staff is running on to the pitch with the covers as well. Well Pakistan let this game drift a lot. Their fielding was as sloppy as the spin bowling was in the middle overs and despite all that, India have only managed to score a competitive 266, instead of a mammoth total. Just shows how dominant Pakistan would have been had they kept their eye on the game throughout this innings. 

Bumrah holes out at midwicket. What a cameo he has played, 16 in 14 balls. Naseem Shah ends with figures of 3/36 after going almost the entire match with no wickets to show for his brilliant efforts. All of India’s wickets fell to pace, in fact the spinners never really came close to containing the batters, let alone taking any wickets.

Naseem gets a second off the second ball of the 49th. Kuldeep nicks it to the wicketkeeper.

And what an extraordinary spell it has been. He ends with figures of 4/35 in 10 overs. His wickets are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. India 261/8 in 48 overs.

Bumrah on 11 off nine, Kuldeep at the other end having made 2 in 8. There are three more overs to go for India.

Beautifully played by Bumrah as Rauf overpitches a tad bit. He has raced to 11 off 8.

Length ball agling in from Afridi for the second ball of the 46th, Bumrah lifts it over mid-on and it lands just in front of the boundary line.

Miscues the pull and Shadab Khan takes a wonderful catch. That is that for India’s batting lineup, they only have tailenders left now. The pacers have returned and demolished any sense of comfort that the Indians may have felt.

He has turned this game right back around in Pakistan’s favour now. Jadeja edges it and Rizwan takes the catch. India 242/7 in 44 overs

Shaheen Afridi returns and gets the big wicket off the first ball. Fullish length delivery, slow one and that deceives Hardik. He pushes at it and fails to keep it down, Agha Salman takes a good catch at cover.

Pandya c Agha Salman b Shaheen Shah Afridi 87 (90), India 239/6 in 43.1 overs

Fantastic over from Naseem, who really has been the pick of the bowlers today despite not getting a single wicket thus far. Just two runs given. Pandya is on 87 off 89, Jadeja on 14 off 19. This partnership has now produced 35 runs in 33 balls.

Short of a length from Shadab outside off, Pandya cuts it straight to the backward point fielder and the he lets the ball do a Howrah bridge on him!

Fourth ball of the 40th, Pandya absolutely nails the pull shot. The ball races past square to the boundary and he moves into the 80s.

Hardik Pandya getting a move on, Pandya cuts away hard off the first ball of the 40th bowled by Rauf and the ball races to the boundary. Then he opens the face of the bat to beat deep third man. 

Ravindra Jadeja is the new man in and he has scored three in seven balls. Hardik Pandya is on 68 off 77. Another misfield allowed the Indians to run two easily.

A wicket at last for Pakistan and it is Haris Rauf who breaks the partnership. It was clear that Kishan will be looking to hit more boundaries from here on considering he was struggling between the wickets. Short of a length and outside off from Rauf, Kishan skies the pull and Babar takes the catch at mid-on. A fantastic innings comes to an end. 

Kishan c Babar Azam b Haris Rauf 82 (81), India 204/5 in 37.3 overs

Ishan Kishan seems to be having some difficult running between the wickets, which is not good news at all for India. He is the wicketkeeper, remember. He is on 82 off 80, Pandya on 65 off 756. The partnership is worth 137 off 138.

No-look six! Nawaz sends in a length ball, Pandya slog-sweeps him over deep midwicket.

Ishan Kishan has now moved to 80 off the first ball of the 37th over. We are now starting to reach that part of the innings where these two players can switch into T20 mode.

India are 187/4 in 36 overs. Shadab fumbles at point, allowing the batters to run a second run that simply wasn’t there otherwise. India are 187/4 in 36 overs, Pandya on 56 off 70, Kishan on 75 off 77.

This partnership is now worth 117 in 126 balls and it will be difficult for you to find too many moments where either Pandya or Kishan were lucky to escape a dismissal. Babar may have missed a trick by not giving the ball to all three of his pacers for an over each in these middle overs. Now Haris Rauf comes back.

This one has come in 62 balls. A measured innings this from the all-rounder and these two have pretty much turned this match on its head.

Salman flights the first ball on middle and leg, Kishan paddles it in front of short fine leg. India are 172/4 now in 33.1 overs.

Kishan takes a step down the pitch to Nawaz for the third ball of the 33rd and hits the ball right over the bowler’s head for his second maximum of the day.

With the 31st over done we have gone into a drinks break and so that gives us time to look back on what has happened in this match so far. Pakistan came in breathing fire, taking three wickets in the first 10 overs. India’s problems deepened when they lost the struggling Shubman Gill in the 15th over and they were reduced to 66/4. Since then, though, a combination of lose bowling from Pakistan’s spinners combined with some efficient ODI batting from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya seems to have helped India stage an impressive recovery. Kishan has scored his fourth consecutive ODI half century while Pandya is in his 40s. India are now 156/4 in 31 overs, Kishan is on 58 off 63, Pandya on 43 off 56.

Kishan is on 56 off 61, Pandya on 38 off 50. Afridi taken off once again and now it is Agha Salman and Shadab Khan sending the balls in.

His fourth consecutive half century in this format. It has come in just 54 balls. He came at a time when India were in all sorts and Pakistan’s pacers were taking wickets for fun. Ishan has made the most of whatever the spinners have bowled and has also looked rather unperturbed by the few balls he faced from Afridi. He is playing out of position but has done exactly what India need. The fact that they still need him to do more shows just how much that early salvo from the Pakistan pacers has dented the Indian cause for now.

India are 135/4 in 27 overs, Kishan on 48 off 51, Pandya on 33 off 41. Six players have batted for India today, six players have bowled for Pakistan as well.

Nawaz does continue from the other end, tosses it up just outside off and Kishan smashes that through extra cover. Three runs away from his half century now. 

We are the halfway stage of the innings now. Pandya has reached 30 in 34, Kishan on 43 off 46. This has been a fantastic partnership, pretty much what they needed. But, for this score to be a competitive one, they need a lot more.

Afridi brought back in place of Shadab and he will now bowl the 24th. The Pakistan spinners somewhat get this partnership away from them in the se middle overs and so it will be interesting if Babar more pace after this over. For now, Kishan and Pandya have to see off their spearhead.

India 116/4 in 22.5 overs. Ishan flicks Shadab towards deep square leg and takes a single to get the stand to that mark.

Length ball angling across Kishan, he cuts it behind point. Beats the fielder on the right as well. Babar might be considering bringing one of the pacers back on to get into the lower middle order, the spinners are conceding just too many runs.

The partnership has now brought 36 in as many balls. There was a round of applause from the Indian fans when they crossed over into three figures off the fourth ball of the 20th. Kishan on 32 off 35, Pandya on 16 off 15.

Third ball of the 20th from Nawaz, Pandya paddle sweeps it, almost the dabs the top of the ball and sends it to the boundary behind him.

A quietish couple of overs with Pandya and Kishan looking rather unperturbed thus far. Pakistan sending in spin from both ends now.

Mohammad Nawaz will replace Shadab Khan for the 18th over now. This partnership has brought on 23 runs for India in 17 balls. Their best stand thus far, which shows just how terrible a day they have had thus far.

Rauf goes short first ball of the 17th, Kishan pulls emphatically. It bounces just in front of the boundary pads and so that’s another four.

Another four down the ground thanks to a bit of a freebie from Shadab off the fourth ball of that over. Kishan moves to 23 off 22 in that over, Pandya is on seven off four. Babar might rethink this spin option for now, especially considering the pressure has gone off somewhat with those two boundaries. 

Nice full toss outside off from Shadab for the first ball of the 16th, Kishan hits it past his partner to the boundary.

A Pakistan pacer has helped India for once today. Hardik Pandya is the new batter and he opens the face of the bat towards deep third man. Naseem Shah is there, fumbles and the ball slips through him to the boundary.

TIMBER! Rauf gets his second and that is the end for Shubman Gill. Seam and pace, not many players in the world can deal with a delivery like that, let alone a player who has scored 10 runs in 32 balls. It seams away from Gill’s defence, takes an inside edge and crashes into the stumps.

Gill b Haris Rauf 10 (32), India 66/4 in 14.1 overs

India 63/3 in 13 overs. Kishan on 12 off 14, Gill on 8 off 26. That was a fantastic over from Naseem and it didn’t deserve to go for five runs, but such is the ways of the world. Shadab Khan comes in to bowl the first over of spin in this match.

Some luck for Ishan Kishan. He tries to play this full delivery from Naseem leg side, thick outside edge and it just beats Babar Azam at first slip.

Kishan moves to 8 off 9, Gill on 7 off 25. Naseem continues from the other end. How India desperately need a big stand from these two here. They have two recognised batters left in Pandya and Jadeja and one rather risky magician in Shardul Thakur.

Ishan Kishan goes after the very first ball after the restart. Short and wide outside off from Rauf, Kishan flashes is bat and sends the ball over deep backward point. Third man was there buit there was no way he could’ve got to that one.

Ishan Kishan on strike, Haris Rauf chargning in for the fourth ball of the 12th over. 

The spell of rain that forced the break this time was not quite as heavy as the last one and it seems like we might have a restart already here. Waiting on…

You can skip this part if you are an India fan. India are 51/3 in 11.2 overs. They have lost Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the first 10 overs. Shaheen Afridi, who seemed to have walked out with some magic dust sprinked on him after the first rain break, got Rohit and Kohli out while Rauf dismissed Iyer thanks to a pretty sharp catch from Fakhar Zaman at midwicket. Opener Shubman Gill is still out there but he has managed just six off 24, Ishan Kishan is on 2 off 6.

Rain and covers are both back. The players walk off, the Pakistan fielders chatting away happily with the Indian batters.

India are in all kinds of trouble here and they need these two players to get a big partnership going here. Gill is on 6 off 21, Ishan Kishan is at the other end. Naseem Shah brought back for the 11th over in place of Afridi.

Short from Rauf, Iyer pulls and it is straight into the hands of midwicket. He had nailed that shot but it did not have the height to clear the fielder at all.

Iyer c Fakhar Zaman b Haris Rauf 14 (9), India 48/3 in 9.5 overs

Rauf strays on Gill’s pads and he just clips it away past fine leg for his first boundary of the match.

India 42/2 in 8 overs. A touch too straight from Rauf, Iyer plays him past mid-on to the boundary. He is looking pretty good so far, India’s No.4. Iyer goes to 13 off 7, Gill is stuck at 1 off 12.

The inside of the toe-end of Shreyas’s bat is toast. That is what happens when those extremeties come in contact with a ball from Rauf. That was a wonderful shot from Shreyas off the fourth ball of the eighth, cover driven on the up to the left of the fielder in that position.

Haris Rauf is in and he replaces Naseem Shah. Shreyas Iyer has walked in at No.4 and so Ishan Kishan will be at No.5. India in all sorts of trouble early on. Losing two wickets in the first 10 overs is never good news, especially if those two wickets are Rohit and Kohli.

Chopped on and Kohli’s gone! Afridi has taken two of the biggest Indian wickets in the first seven overs itself! The Pakistan fans in the crowd, and there are many of them, have risen up like green fists around the stands. 

Kohli b Shaheen Afridi 4 (7), India 27/2 in 6.3 overs

Not a half volley from Naseem but Kohli goes far away from his body and absolutely middles it. races past cover.

Naseem goes too far down the leg side, beats Rizwan’s dive and the ball goes to the boundary. The batter he was bowling to was Virat Kohli, who has come in at No.3 and not No.4. 

Afridi has come back strong and how after that break. Well the fourth and fifth balls seamed away from Rohit and this one hits top of off. Full but not a half volley, it fizzes past Rohit’s outside edge and hits the stumps.

Rohit Sharma b Shaheen Shah Afridi 11 (22), India 15/1 in 5 overs

Afridi to continue the fifth over, Rohit is on strike. He fends off that ball for no runs. We are back in action in Pallekele. 

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have held their own quite well against Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. Afridi in some ways has been somewhat awry going by his standards but Naseem has given Rohit and Gill all kinds of trouble. Rohit has shown that India are in no defensive mindset with the two fours he hit. India are 15/0 in 4.2 overs. Rohit on 11 off 18, Gill on 0 off 8.

Rohit had taken his helmet off but now he puts it back on and starts practicing a few shots. The rain has cleared off, we can even see some blue between the clouds now and so we seem to be just moments away from a restart now.

“He bowled a couple of good deliveries but I think he bowled a little too full for my liking. Both openers were ready and it was simple. Ball coming in and they were defensive, they knew that once they survive against Shaheen they will be fine. I think he was trying too hard because of which his pace was down…. this break might do him good,” says Waqar on Star Sports. 

Yes, those are the kind of things we have to keep an eye on at the moment but Rohit isn’t known to do things like keeping his helmet on to stay focussed. He has been sitting in the dugout and chatting away with others from the Indian camp. As relaxed as they come. With the rain easing up  as well, that helmet is a positive sign. 

Well it has stopped coming down in sheets but more covers are coming on. It is now becoming akin to those famous pictures you tend to see during rain breaks in Sri Lanka of ever blade of grass on the ground being covered up. 

The shower is just too heavy now and out come the covers. The players rush off the field. It is coming down in sheets. Well there was rain in the forecast for the day. It looks like the covers might be on for a while now folks. India are 15/0 in 4.2 overs.

Well Shubman Gill pulled just as Naseem was getting into action for the last ball of the fourth as it starts to pour at Pallekele. It seems like the players are staying on for now. India 15/0 in 4 overs.

Second ball of the third from Afridi, Rohit just clips it away and it looks early doors like it had gone all the way for a six. However it seems that Rohit had yorked the boundary pads. Afridi strays on Rohit’s leg and the Indian captain punishes him for it.

What a scorcher of a start this is. Naseem Shah with a delivery that thudded into Rziwan’s glove and then another that barely rose above Rohit’s knees for the first two balls. Then a little doubt over whether a catch was dropped or not off the fourth off Gill.

India are 6/0 after the first over. Rohit took a single off the fifth ball and thus Shubman Gill got the first taste of an India-Pakistan match. The first ball he faced was wide down the leg side from Afridi. He clips away the next one. Rohit on 5 off 7, Gill 0 off 1. Naseem Shah comes in to bowl from the other end.

Afridi sends the second ball on Rohit’s leg, the Indian captain clips it uppishly but wide of square leg. That goes to the boundary.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill open for India with the captain facing up. Shaheen Shah Afridi has the ball in his hands. Here we go folks! The humdinger begins at last.

The two teams walk out in the middle for the pre-match rituals. We can also see the crowd building up for the epic clash.

“Mohammad Shami would’ve been more threatening to Pakistan than Shardul Thakur. You talk about batting depth, but bowling depth matters too.” – Sanjay Manjrekar on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Asia Cup 2023.

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj 

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma arrive in the middle for the much awaited toss.

Rohit Sharma wins the toss and opts to bat.

“A high quality and unique pitch. Fast bowlers can get some seam, the spinners will get some turn, and a good batter can also score a century on this wicket. With DLS in picture, the captain winning the toss might prefer to bowl first.”

The teams are ready as we can see the Pakistan unit in a huddle. Team director Mickey Arthur can be seen passing the last minute tips to his players.

“We practise with the bowlers that we have. But these three (Shaheen, Rauf, Naseem) are quality bowlers and have performed well in the last few years.

“Their strength, where they bowl and not bowl, we have seen all that. We will use our years of experience to play against them, as simple as that.” – India skipper Rohit Sharma on Pakistan’s pace attack

The ground staffs have started to remove the covers. The rain has stopped but the conditions look grim as it is overcast. 

Players from both sides are also doing their final warm-ups ahead of the clash.

Visuals of the Pakistan team leaving for the venue. Although it’s drizzling but we hope the rain clears away to make some room for cricket.

Rain is playing hide and seek and as per latest inputs there’s a slight drizzle at the moment. Covers have also been brought on, which are not good signs, especially with less than an hour remaining for the toss.

The Indian unit heads into the competition after a week long preparation camp in Alur, Bengaluru. 

After a long time India have assembled a full-strength squad but they still have a few questions to be answered.

Players like Shreyas Iyer is making a return after a long injury lay-off. While Jasprit Bumrah, who’ll be leading the seam department, too is very new and has just played two T20Is coming into the Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul, who is part of the squad is still unfit and will only be available after the Super 4 stage.

If we go by latest inputs, the rains have disappeared and the sky appears clear at the moment. 

There have been spells of rains, mostly drizzle. However, there was one incident, which forced the ground staffs to cover the playing area. 

Lets hope it remains this way.

The weather has been fickle since morning. Earlier a post shared by ex-Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram showed bit of drizzle. Then a post by Sri Lanka Cricket showed clear skies but now it is being reported that it has started to rain heavily.

Virat Kohli has also been dismissed by left-arm spinner on seven occasions since 2021 and the former India skipper averages 14.57 against them.

Ishan Kishan, who is likely to don the gloves, has also been dismissed by a left-arm spinner five times and averagesf 29, which makes Mohammad Nawaz another key player from the Pakistan camp.

If we look at both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, they have been vulnerable against left-arm pacers in the past, something that will make Shaheen Shah Afridi the happiest among all the Pakistan bowlers.

Rohit averages 25.8 against left-arm pace since 2021, and has been dismissed five times.

Kohli, on the other hand, averages 29 and has been dismissed thrice.

Ever since the 2019 World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja has amassed 448 runs at an average of 49.77. 

However, he has gone wicketless in 10 of the 22 innings he’s bowled in this time period.

Wasim Jaffer thinks this should be the XI India should field against Pakistan. He has left out Mohammad Shami, one of India’s most experienced pacer and tried to squeeze in Shardul Thakur, considering his low-order batting potential.

Live visuals from the Pallekele Ground and we must say the signs look positive at the moment. Remember there is a rain forecast during the match, but we are hoping it to remain away.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam scored a superd 151 in the previous match against Nepal. However, the skipper doesn’t have a very good record against India, in fact he hasn’t gone past fifty even once against the Men In Blue in ODIs. Babar averages 31.60, and has a highest score of 48. He has so far accumulated 158 runs in the five innings.

INDIA 

Anil Kumble – 7 wickets in 4 matches (highest wicket taker)

Rohit Sharma – 367 runs in 7 matches (highest run getter)

PAKISTAN

Saeed Ajmal – 8 wickets in 4 matches (highest wicket taker)

Shoaib Malik – 428 runs in 5 matches (highest run getter)

If we look at the head-to-head records between the two sides in Asia Cup ODIs, it is India who have the edge over the neighbours. 

They’ve engaged in 13 matches, out of which India have won 7, while Pakistan have won 5. 

India had defeated Pakistan by nine wickets in Dubai in 2018, which was the last 50-over clash between the two in the continental tournament. 

If we look at the head-to-head record, the two teams have engaged in 132 ODIs. Pakistan have won 73 times, while India have won 55 of them. Four encounters didn’t produce any result. 

While we still await for India’s playing XI, a post in Pakistan Cricket Team’s social media profile has confirmed that the Men In Green won’t be tweaking their winning combination.

This is the first time India is meeting Pakistan in the 50-over format after the 2019 World Cup. India had then won the match by 89 runs in Manchester. 

In his last five innings against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma has scored 90-plus score thrice.

Rohit’s last five ODI innings vs Pakistan: 91(119), 0(3), 52(39), 111*(119), 140(113).

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is in Kandy and gives an update on the weather. 

If we look at Pakistan’s previous encounter they piled a massive 342/6 on the board despite losing two early wickets. 

Skipper Babar Azam, who is ranked one ODI batter at the moment, scored a superb 151 off 131 balls, which featured 14 fours and 4 sixes.

Iftikar Ahmad then wrapped the show with an unbeaten 71-ball 109, which featured 11 fours and 4 sixes.

A look at Pakistan’s squad for Asia Cup 2023:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Usama Mir

What is really concerning for fans is the weather forecast. 

As per the forecast, rain and thunderstorms are likely to interrupt the proceedings. In addition there will also be a thick cloud cover throughout the match.

Openers: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan 

Top and middle-order: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav/Tilak Varma

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja

Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

A look at the players who are available for the clash against Pakistan:

Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma

Since KL Rahul is not available for the match, Ishan Kishan is likely to don the gloves. But the real question is what will be his batting position? 

It’ll be interesting to see if Ishan Kishan is asked to bat lower down the order, which is not his natural position. If that is not the case then he could be seen opening the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma and maybe Shubman Gill can occupy the number four slot. Gill had earlier mentioned that he does have a bit of experience batting at number three and four.

Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to action after a long break. The two were part of the previous ODI series, which was against West Indies but played only one match before deciding to enjoy the proceedings from the sidelines.

• the match is being played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
• the toss is scheduled at 2:30 pm IST 
• the match gets underway at 3:00 pm IST 
• however, there are chances of rain hitting the contest so we could also see a bit of a delay 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup encounter in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. This is India’s first match in the tournament, while Pakistan enter the competition on the back of a resounding 238-run win against Nepal in the opening match of Asia Cup 2023. Stay tuned for all the updates on the match.