Asia Cup 2018: Good to defeat Pakistan back to back, says Yuzvendra Chahal

Dubai: After notching up a convincing nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup in their Super Four fixture at the Dubai International Stadium, Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said that defeating their arch-rivals back to back will boost the confidence of his side ahead of the finals.

"It is good to defeat Pakistan back to back. This will boost our confidence for the finals. Once we are in the stadium there is no pressure. The audience is very excited about India vs Pakistan match," Chahal said while addressing a press conference here.

Chahal attributed India’s consistent show with the ball across formats to a skillful pool of bowlers and confidence shown by the team management.

“Our bowling pool has swelled to 10-15 and earlier it wasn’t so. Now one who is replacing you is also as skillful,” Chahal said.

“Even in England, the way our bowlers have dominated, it shows the regular flow of spinners and medium pacers in the team. Also the confidence showed by the management, that is important for a youngster. There is no negativity, you can concentrate on your bowling.”

India has been invincible in the six-nation tournament as it defeated Pakistan twice, besides notching up wins against Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

India dominated arch-rivals Pakistan once again and booked their place in the finals of the ongoing Asia Cup after it registered a nine-wicket victory over Pakistan.

“We were positive from the start, because the first match against Hong Kong was tough. Next we were playing Pakistan after a long time, the atmosphere was good.

“We haven’t lost a match in this tournament, especially winning two matches against Pakistan will give us a boost ahead of the final,” Chahal said.

It was Chahal’s first match against Pakistan. Asked about his experience, he said: “Generally cricketers have a bucket list, where you hope to play Pakistan one day but when we played them, it didn’t feel that we were playing Pakistan, it seemed its our own team only.

“When you go to the ground, it doesn’t matter if you are playing Pakistan or England. It is all about being mentally strong and how much pressure you can deal with.”

India has dominated Pakistan both with the bat and the ball but Chahal said it was just a case of a team having a bad day in office for its arch-rival. “Our batsmen put their bowlers under pressure from the start. They are playing the new ball well, they are taking their time and partnership are getting longer,” he said.

“In this wicket, you have to vary line and length. But they got mentally down as the match was slipping away, so the situation was different.

“Sometimes it happens, teams don’t have a good day but they (Pakistan) are also a good team. So it is not a one-sided thing, the tournament is still not over.”

Chahal, who has taken five wickets, including 2 for 46 against Pakistan on Sunday, in the four matches at Asia Cup, said he tries to bowl according to the wicket.

“I have bowled a lot in the Powerplay overs in T20 matches in IPL and for India. So it is not a new thing, I vary my pace and length according to the wicket,” he said.

Asked about his interactions with Ravindra Jadeja, who made a comeback to ODI with a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh, Chahal said: “I am playing with Jaddu bhai (Jadeja) for the first time. He is a senior and experienced player. He reads the wicket well.

“I have played with Kuldeep Yadav more. I discussed with Jaddu bhai if I should slower the pace of my deliveries in this wicket, so all three of us discussed and planned accordingly,” he added.

Talking about Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Chahal said: “I haven’t met Rashid a lot. But I watch him whenever I get a chance. He is one of my favourites.

“He is one bowler who hasn’t gone for much runs in the matches that he has played. So bowlers have to think when they face him. I follow his attitude, whenever I get a chance, we speak about leg-spin.”

India's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and opener Shikhar Dhawan stitched together an impressive 210-run partnership at the top as their side notched up a convincing win over Pakistan with 63 balls to spare.

The 210-run partnership between the two was the best opening stand by India against Pakistan. It was also India's biggest win in terms of wickets against Pakistan in One-Day Internationals.

Chasing a target of 238 runs, both Sharma (111) and Dhawan (114) notched up a century each to impose their dominance over Pakistan from the onset of the innings.

Sharma scored his 19th ODI ton off 106 balls while Dhawan smashed his 15th century off 95 balls. Dhawan's brilliant innings ended on 114 off 100 balls, while Sharma remained unbeaten on 111 off 119 balls.

When Sharma reached 94, he became the ninth Indian batsman to score 7000 runs in ODIs.

Dhawan, who produced an impressive performance with the bat, was adjudged Man of the Match.

The Men in Blue had earlier clinched an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in their Group A match.