Asia Cup 2018, Match 5: India vs Pakistan - Always Good to Get Any Team to a Low Total - Bhuvneshwar Kumar

After an ordinary performance against Hong Kong in their opening match of the Asia Cup 2018, team India bounced back in an emphatic manner thrashing Pakistan by eight wickets in their final group league match.

It was a great effort by the Indian bowlers to restrict Pakistan to a score of 162 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav were the picks of the Indian bowlers bagging three wickets each. It was a great effort by the Men in Blue especially after the performance against Hong Kong where they conceded 174 runs to the opening wicket.

After batting first, Pakistan lost their openers pretty quickly. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the wrecker in chief, as he bagged two crucial wickets in practically no time. Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam batted quite sensibly from there on and shared a good partnership to get Pakistan back on track. They played some exceptional shots in the process.

India bowled brilliantly in the middle overs

However, after Kuldeep Yadav bagged the wicket of Babar Azam, it was a downward slide for Pakistan. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never managed to claw their way back into the match. Kedar Jadhav was sensational with the ball for India. His lower trajectory deliveries helped India stall Pakistan’s progress. He bagged three crucial wickets to stem the run flow of Pakistan. Eventually, they were bowled out for 162 in their second game in Asia Cup 2018.

The Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, began with a cautious approach. However, it was in the 6^th over Rohit started going after the bowlers.

In a brief period, he raced to a well-deserved half-century. It included three sixes and six fours and a towering six off Usman Khan. Shikhar Dhawan batted sensibly on the other end.

Shadab Khan castled Rohit Sharma with a brilliant delivery. However, by then India was within touching distance of the victory target. Eventually, Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik batted sensibly, as India chased the total down in the 30^th over.

Now here is what Man of the Match Bhuvneshwar Kumar said at the post-match presentation,

“Always good to get any team to a low total. Great to see Jadhav bowl well in the absence of Hardik Pandya. On a track where the ball doesn’t swing, it’s important to bowl back of a length and try to hit the stumps. Key is not to give too many runs and force the batsmen to make mistakes. It’s tough and hot. Also, the tracks are flat and perhaps due to the heat, Hardik got injured as he was playing in England and couldn’t adjust to the different conditions here.”