Asia Cup 2022: 3 match-winning bowling spells by Indian bowlers against Pakistan in Asia Cup
India and Pakistan have competed against each other on 15 occasions in Asia Cup tournaments over the years, with India winning nine of them. Pakistan have tasted success in these matches on five occasions, while one game ended without a result.
Regarding the Asia Cup in the T20 format, the two Asian giants have competed on two occasions, with India winning both the encounters.
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India and Pakistan have both advanced to the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2022, having finished first and second respectively in Group A. The arch-rivals will compete once again on September 4 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Team India will look to extend their unbeaten run in the multi-nation tournament by beating Pakistan once again in the tournament. For that to happen, the Indian bowlers will again have to perform well.
In fact, bowlers have often played a key role in the Men in Blue's success over Pakistan in Asia Cup matches.
To prepare for the big match on Sunday, let's look at three match-winning bowling spells by Indian bowlers against Pakistan in Asia Cup's history.
#1 Arshad Ayub - 5/21 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka in 1988
The former Indian off-spinner played a crucial role in India's victory against their arch-rivals in the 1988 edition of the Asia Cup. India won the toss and inserted Pakistan to bat on a tricky wicket.
The openers added 62 runs before Ramiz Raja was trapped leg before wicket by Ayub. Thereafter, the off-spinner broke the backbone of the Pakistan middle and lower middle order and picked up four more wickets.
His second victim was Aamer Malik, who too was trapped leg before wicket. Shoaib Mohammad (bowled), Naved Anjum (leg before wicket), and Wasim Akram (bowled) were his remaining three victims.
Ayub ended with figures of 5-21 from nine overs and Pakistan were bundled out for 142.
India chased down the target with four wickets in hand and Ayub was unsurprisingly named Man of the Match.
Ayub is the only Indian bowler to date to pick up five wickets in an innings against Pakistan in Asia Cup encounters.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar- 4/26 at Dubai International Stadium in 2022
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at his very best in the group match against Pakistan on August 28, 2022. He picked up four wickets in his four allotted overs and conceded just 26 runs.
Bhuvi was accurate with his line and length from the word go. In his second over, Kumar bowled a short ball which Babar Azam attempted to pull but could only top-edge into the hands of Arshdeep Singh.
Brilliant bowling figures of 4/26 from @BhuviOfficial makes him our Top Performer from the first innings.
A look at his bowling summary here 👇
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In his second spell, his first victim was the dangerous Asif Ali, who was caught by Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian seamer thereafter accounted for Shadab Khan and Naseem Khan in his last over (both were dismissed leg before wicket), and ended up with four wickets.
Pakistan were bowled out for 147 and team India chased down the target with two balls to spare.
The Indian pacer was one of the main architects of India's win over Pakistan in the said game.
#3 Roger Binny - 3/33 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in 1984
The Indian all-rounder played a vital role in India's triumph over Pakistan in the 1984 edition of the Asia Cup. The said game was the first time ever that the two Asian Giants clashed against each other in the Asia Cup.
Batting first, India posted a modest total of 188/4 in 46 overs, with Surinder Khanna being the top scorer (56).
In Pakistan's innings, Binny picked up three wickets in his spell of 9.4 overs and helped bundle out the opposition for 134.
The seam-bowling all-rounder first accounted for Qasim Umar. His next victim was the legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas, who was dismissed for 27. Sarfaraz Nawaz was his last victim as India won the match by 54 runs.