Asia Cup 2023: India vs Pakistan match 3 Highlights [WATCH HERE]

India vs. Pakistan match is a clash that everyone looks forward to. This is one time when every cricket fan is stuck to its TV screen. However, things get gloomy when the dark skies loom over the ground. And this is what happened in this match as well. People were expecting some excellent cricket action today. And they got that in the first half of the game. Unfortunately, this match couldn’t reach its climax.

Read: Asia Cup 2023 Points Table

In this article, we will talk about the first innings. No worries, we will get another action-packed match on 10 September 2023.

Match details

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Toss	India, elected to bat first
Match number	3
Match date	2 September 2023
Umpires	Richard Illingworth Ruchira Palliyaguruge
TV Umpire	Paul Wilson
Reserve Umpire	Jayaraman Madanagopal
Match Referee	Javagal Srinath

Here are the playing 11

PAKISTAN	INDIA
Fakhar Zaman	Rohit Sharma
Imam-ul-Haq	Shubman Gill
Babar Azam	Virat Kohli
Mohammad Rizwan	Shreyas Iyer
Agha Salman	Ishan Kishan
Iftikhar Ahmed	Hardik Pandya
Shadab Khan	Ravindra Jadeja
Mohammad Nawaz	Shardul Thakur
Naseem Shah	Kuldeep Yadav
Shaheen Shah Afridi	Jasprit Bumrah
Haris Rauf	Mohammed Siraj

First Innings – India 266 – 10

The Pacers ruled today. Unlike the predictions, fast bowlers took all the wickets today. At the same time, the spinners did nothing at all. The pacer trio didn’t let Indian batters have a breather. Especially Shaheen and Naseem. It was unlucky for Naseem since he couldn’t take that many wickets. Haris conceded a lot of runs. However, he took a lot of wickets. More about this match in the bullet points.

• We predicted that spinners would take wickets, but the rain didn’t let them grip the ball.
• Shadab tried to give the ball the flight but in vain.
• But this is not what we will talk about right now; the pacers provided those early breakthroughs as we had predicted.
• Shaheen and Naseem built that pressure early on and didn’t let them settle one bit.
• Rain stopped the play twice, but Pakistani pacers kept things spicy.
• Shaheen drew first blood as he took the wicket of Rohit Sharma with that trademark inswinging delivery.
• Virat followed soon and joined him in the dugout.
• Haris Rauf picked Shubhman and Iyer. The top order was in shambles.
• Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan build up the innings, saving India from a disappointing 64-4.
• Haris Rauf broke the partnership as the skipper took the catch.
• Hardik followed as Shaheen had another brilliant spell, taking his scalp and Jadeja’s wicket.
• Naseem Shah also took the remaining wickets and restricted India to 266
• Shadab and Nawaz went expensive, and the fielding from Pakistan was poor.

INDIA 266-10
BATTING	BOWLING
Ishan Kishan 82 (81)	Shaheen Afridi 4-35
Hardik Pandya 87 (90)	Naseem Shah 3-36
Jasprit Bumrah 16 (14)	Haris Rauf 3-58
TARGET	267

Match cancelled – No result.

The match was cancelled as the rain interrupted the play. It was an exciting show, and the match officials tried to continue the game. However, the heavens were not in the mood to let the green shirts bat today. It could have been exciting to see how the match would unfold. But if you ask me, Shaheen Shah Afridi deserves the Man of the Match award so far. How he destroyed the experienced and star-studded Indian top order is beyond amazing.

Both teams ended up with 1 point, with no chance in their NRR. This means India is now at the number 2 spot on the points table with 1 point and 0 NRR.