DUBAI (Reuters) -A 105-run opening stand between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill helped defending champions India beat Pakistan by six wickets in their Asia Cup Super Four match on Sunday, a second victory over their arch rivals in the Twenty20 tournament.
Put in to bat first, Pakistan set India a target of 172, which they reached with seven balls remaining.
There was no handshake between the teams’ players yet again with the match played amid lingering tensions between the two nations in the wake of the military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May this year.
The Indian openers exchanged some heated words with the Pakistani bowlers early on during the chase, with the umpire having to step in between Sharma and Haris Rauf at one point.
“The way they were coming at us for no reason, I didn’t like it at all and this is the only way I could give medicine to them,” said Sharma, whose score of 74 off 39 balls included six fours and five sixes.
A 72-run partnership between Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub for the second wicket laid the foundation for Pakistan’s innings after Fakhar Zaman (15) fell early.
Farhan, who was dropped in the first over by Sharma, completed his half-century in 34 balls, steering Pakistan to 91-1 after 10 overs.
But Pakistan could not hit a single boundary in the next six overs as Shivam Dube (2-33) dismissed Ayub (21) and Farhan (58 off 45) in quick succession.
Unbeaten knocks from captain Salman Ali Agha (17 off 13) and Faheem Ashraf (20 off 8) added 42 runs in the last three overs to help Pakistan reach a competitive 171-5.
SHARMA DOMINATES PAKISTANI BOWLERS
Sharma announced his intentions by hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six on the first ball, and hit four boundaries and four sixes to complete his half-century in 24 balls.
India seemed to be cruising to a quick victory until Gill (47 off 28) was bowled by Faheem Ashraf in the 10th over.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav fell to Rauf (2-26) for a duck in the very next over, and Sharma was dismissed by Abrar Ahmed soon after, temporarily throttling India’s chase.
But India, who beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the group stage, still got over the line, with Tilak Varma (30 off 19) hitting Afridi for a six and a four in the final two balls of the innings.
“Obviously, we’re yet to play a perfect game but we are getting there. I think it was a great game. We batted really well… when it (came) to bowling, I think in the powerplay they took the game away from us,” Salman said.
Pakistan will face Sri Lanka on Tuesday, with both sides looking for their first win in the Super Four, a day before India play Bangladesh, who beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
