India proved their title-credentials with a thumping win over arch-rivals and fellow title-contenders Pakistan in the Asia Cup. The Men in Blue thrashed Pakistan by 8 wickets to register their second win of the competition in as many games.
It was a dominating performance from the Rohit Sharma-led side. As a result, Pakistan never looked in contention to get ahead of India at any stage of the game.
Barring the toss, nothing much went Pakistan’s way throughout the game. Even before the fans could settle down on their seats, the Men in Green lost both their openers for just 3 runs on the board. A 82-run stand between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik raised hopes of revival. However, both of them departed in quick succession and Pakistan just could not recover from the setbacks.
They were soon 7 down for 121 and 150 was looking like a distant dream. However, a 37-run stand between Mohammad Amir and Faheem Ashraf helped Pakistan cross the 150-run mark before they were eventually all out for 162.
In reply, India chased down the total with utmost ease. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan set the tone fo the chase by adding 86 runs for the first wicket off just 13 overs.
Shadab Khan ended the stand by dismissing Rohit. Prior to that, Rohit slammed 52 off just 39 with the help of 6 fours and 3 sixes. The India skipper slammed a 42-ball century to register his fastest fifty in ODIs. Dhawan soon departed after scoring 46. Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu then took India home with utmost ease to inflict a heavy loss on the arch-rivals.
As expected, the Indians celebrated the win over the bitter rivals. And just like the fans, some famous personalities of the country also celebrated the win. Here are some of the reactions:
That moment when you realize that the 7 Pakistanis in Hong Kong team plays better than the actual Pakistan team. #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018 #Asiacup pic.twitter.com/LXe5auRC3j
— Poonam Pandey Bombay (@iPoonampandey) September 19, 2018
Congratulations Team #India on the win!! Great match! Well played! #AsiaCup2018 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/VUqvUFdydK
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) September 19, 2018
By far the most boring #INDvPAK match ….. ever!! ????
anyways well played #MenInBlue ???????????????????
Expecting fireworks in the rest of the series .. Let's wait and watch #AsiaCup18
— Vignesh Shivan (@VigneshShivN) September 19, 2018
Big cheer for India,
Cricket fans would have loved more of a contest. Pakistan never got into it, or rather, India never allowed them to.
Well done India!!!#PAKvIND #AsiaCup2018— Boman Irani (@bomanirani) September 19, 2018
And that's an incredible victory for India! #TeamIndia makes us proud once again! #BleedBlue ?????#INDvPAK #AsiaCup2018 pic.twitter.com/WPETTkzLUA
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) September 19, 2018