Colombo – Pakistan has successfully defended their title of Emerging Asia Cup this time. They are the only team to do so in the tournament’s history. They were comfortable since the beginning of their innings and carried the entire energy till the end. Was it India’s mistake to bat second after winning the toss?
Read: Asia Cup 2023 Schedule PDF
In this article, we will talk about how Pakistan completely thrashed India and took revenge for the league game loss. Also, we will see how their mystery spinner took crucial wickets to turn the game around in Pakistan A’s favour.
Related: Pakistan Squad for Asia Cup 2023 [Announced]
Pakistan’s smooth start
Pakistan A started smoothly, with Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan having a partnership of 121 runs in mere 105 balls. But this partnership was broken after India fought back when Saim threw away his wicket at 59 runs. Farhan joined him shortly after Dhull fired the shot and ran him out.
Things looked disappointing after the middle order collapsed. But we were still waiting for Tayyab Tahir’s knock. He established a stand of 126 runs on 97 deliveries with Mubasir Khan. Tayyab himself scored a century on 71 deliveries. He was the one who pulled Pakistan out of despair and propelled the target to 353 for India A.
India fighting back
India started well, with Abishek and Sudharsan having a partnership of 64 runs. The run rate was good, and India looked too comfortable until Arshad Iqbal, the star of the semi-finals, got him out on a short ball.
After that, Pakistan looked quite comfortable, with the 50-run stand between Abhishek and Dhull being the only thorn in their way. But Sufiyqan, the mystery spinner, the chinamanm, got him out. After that, it was only a matter of time until Pakistan bowled the entire team.
Pakistan A defended the title.
This was a dramatic show. A Pakistan vs India match is bound to be a drama. Especially Sufyan’s bowling was the x-factor that Pakistan needed. They hid him in the playoffs, which paid off well in the big match. He went expensive, but it was worth the wickets of Abhishek, Dhull, and Rana.
If Tayyab was the star in the batting, Sufyan was menacing to the Indian batters in Pakistan’s bowling. The way no one could pick his wrong uns reminded people of Saeed Ajmal’s Doosras.
https://twitter.com/MUsamakhattak/status/1683133799058771968?s=20
Now let’s come to the last wickets stand. It was chaos. Pakistan A missed a chance of a runout, and the Indian batters weren’t in the mood to throw this last wicket away. They were ready to fight the remaining 10 overs. Wasim was on the bowling end, and all the fielders were in the circle.
Manav wasn’t in the mood to throw the wicket away under this pressure. He was the wall between Pakistan A and the Emerging Asia Cup trophy. But Pakistan was in ecstasy as Wasim bowled Dodiya on a slower one on his last ball.
Cheers to Pakistan A; they defend the title! Best wishes to the senior team as they will play the Asia Cup starting August 30, 2023.