Asia Cup 2018: India ruthless, Pakistan toothless

Dubai: If India’s first Asia Cup 2018 encounter against Pakistan was a one-sided affair, the script on Sunday was no different. Crucial centuries from Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan meant that the Men in Blue cruised towards their fourth consecutive victory of the tournament.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Sarfraz Ahmed’s men put up 237 on board but in reply, the task proved to be too easy for their arch-rivals.

It was business as usual from India’s two swashbuckling openers who batted with caution during the early phases before switching gears. The duo completely took the game away from the opposition before bringing up their personal milestones.

Dhawan, unfortunately, had to depart after a horrible mix-up but from there on Ambati Rayudu and the India skipper made sure they cruised to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory.

India will now lock horns with Afghanistan on Tuesday.

India 211-1 after 36 overs:

HUNDRED! Rohit Sharma leads from the front with his 19th ODI ton. Hitman has played a captain's knock.

India 211-1 after 34 overs:

RUN OUT! Shikhar Dhawan's fantastic ton ends in a bizarre fashion after a mix-up with Rohit Sharma.

India 208-0 after 33 overs:

BIG ONE! Shikhar Dhawan brings up his 15th ODI hundred in style with a cover drive boundary. Another scintillating knock from Gabbar whose displayed some amazing shots this evening.

India 119-0 after 22 overs:

FIFTY! Rohit Sharma brings up his 36th ODI half-century. Hitman at his usual best.

India 107-0 after 20 overs:

HUNDRED PARTNERSHIP! Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put India in control with Pakistan looking clueless at the moment.

India 91-0 after 18 overs:

India 57-0 after 11 overs:

STRONG START! The Men in Blue get off to a flyer as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan steer India past the fifty mark. Mohammed Amir and Shaheen Afridi have so far been ineffective against the openers.

1st innings:

India made an impressive comeback to restrict Pakistan to 237-7 after losing the toss earlier in their third Asia Cup 2018 encounter.

Rohit Sharma’s men started on a strong note with spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav removing openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman before the dismissal of Babar Azam piled more misery.

But Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed stitched an influential century partnership to bail Pakistan out of trouble. But it was Kuldeep again who brought an end to the partnership before the experienced Malik fell cheaply to Jasprit Bumrah moments later.

Asif Ali enthralled the crowd with his sparkling cameo but Chahal made sure it did not last long with his 50^th ODI scalp.

Later on, the Men in Blue responded well with some tight bowling in the death overs to deny the opposition to reach the 250 target.

Pakistan 237-7 after 50 overs:

BOWLED! Nawaz chops it on as Bumrah gets his second wicket. India have been terrific in the death overs!

Pakistan 211-6 after 45 overs:

BOWLED! Yuzvendra Chahal claims his 50th ODI wicket as Asif Ali is bamboozled. Well flighted, the batsman swings across the line and completely misses.

Pakistan 205-5 after 44 overs:

CAUGHT! Jasprit Bumrah gets the surprise wicket of Shoaib Malik and India are back in the game. Straying down leg, the batsman tickles it straight towards Dhoni behind the stumps.

Pakistan 165-4 after 39 overs:

CAUGHT! Kuldeep Yadav gets the big fish as Sarfraz Ahmed smacks it straight to Rohit Sharma at short extra cover. The important partnership is finally broken.

Pakistan 141-3 after 35 overs:

CRUCIAL KNOCK! Shoaib Malik reaches his 43rd ODI fifty, his 11th against the Men in Blue as Pakistan cruise control.

Pakistan 58-3 after 16 overs:

RUN OUT! Another one gone as India have got rid of Babar Azam. The batsman tucks it towards point and hurries for a single. Sarfraz Ahmed at the other end sends him back and a terrific throw from Chahal makes him fall short in the end.

Pakistan 56-2 after 15 overs:

LBW! It's a big breakthrough for India as dangerman Fakhar Zaman departs. Kuldeep bowls it full and the southpaw slips, trying to play the sweep shot. The umpire raises his finger immediately.

Pakistan 24-1 after 8 overs:

DECISION OVERTURNED! An incredible review from MS Dhoni gets India their first wicket as Pakistan lose Imam-ul-Haq. Chahal lands it between middle and off and the ball turns back in, thudding the batsman on the knee roll.

Toss:

Sarfraz Ahmed has won the toss and Pakistan have elected to bat against India in the Super Four encounter here on Sunday.

While Pakistan have made two changes to the team which played against Afghanistan, India have retained the same playing XI which took on Bangladesh on Friday.

India had a stutter as they began their Asia Cup 2018 as Hong Kong almost pulled off a heist. However, the Rohit Sharma-led unit, who had been clinical in their next two games, will be out to tame Pakistan for one more time in the clash of the arch-rivals.

Before the Asia Cup 2018, India had faced Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final. While Pakistan outplayed India on that occasion, India seem to be a stronger side this time around even in the absence of Virat Kohli. With Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan enjoying a fine run of form and the middle order showing the good signs, Pakistani bowlers will have their task cut out against India.

Indian bowling too has been impressive in the last two games. While the pace-bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been enjoying the outings in Dubai, the spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who made a fantastic comeback to India's ODI side with a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh, have not done too badly either.

While Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam have been the mainstays of the Pakistan's batting and Imam-ul-Haq has shown signs of improvement, Pakistan will want the likes of Fakhar Zaman and skipper Sarfraz to fire with the bat as they look to stop India's winning run.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain and wicketkeeper) Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir.

Match-timing:

The match is scheduled to start at 5 P.M.

Live streaming:

The live streaming of the India-Bangladesh clash will be available on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.

Live telecast:

The live telecast of the match will be available across various Star Sports channels.