Asia Cup 2018: 10 Reasons behind India's emphatic win against Pakistan
India beat Pakistan by 9 wickets in the Super Four match at Dubai. This was India’s biggest win in terms of margin of wickets against Pakistan. The margin of victory could have been by 10 wickets if not for for Shikhar Dhawan’s sudden rush of blood which led to his run-out.
There were so many factors which contributed to this emphatic win. In this article, an attempt is made to bring out all the possible factors contributing to this emphatic win.
#1. Pakistan’s bizarre decision at the toss
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. It was a debatable decision as it has been noticed in this Asia Cup that the Dubai wicket has been slow and two-paced in the first innings.
In the second innings, the ball tends to come on to the bat nicely under lights. In their earlier match against Pakistan and Bangladesh, India were successful in chasing down targets at Dubai.
Pakistan, on the other hand, were coming back from their last over win against Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi where they struggled to chase. This would have played on the minds of the Sarfraz Ahmed when he decided to bat first at Dubai. But this was a different wicket against a different opponent who would love to chase.
In hindsight, Pakistan’s decision to bat first played an important role in the final outcome of the match.