Asia Cup 2018: 3 Talking points from India vs Pakistan
The much-awaited match of the 2018 Asia Cup between India and Pakistan finally concluded on the matchday 5 of the competition. The day before the game against Pakistan, India locked horns with Hong Kong where subcontinent avoided a shock defeat against Hong Kong.
India's encounter against Pakistan was the first after a span of 15 months. The meeting between the two Asian heavyweights was one-sided in which India easily defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets. India finally took their revenge against Pakistan for their loss against Pakistan in 2017 Champions Trophy final.
Pakistan's batting line-up crumbled and was not able to go past 200 mark. India bowled out entire Pakistan team for 162. In reply to Pakistan's 162, India reached the target in less than 30 overs which was quite impressive.
Here are the three talking points from the game:
#1 Early Pakistan wickets set the tone for India
The main reason for India eliminating Pakistan at the mere scoreline at 162 was the early wickets taken by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman. Fakhar Zaman was the main reason why India lost against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final of 2018 edition.
Zaman scored a century when the two teams met last in Champions Trophy 2017 Final. Two early wickets helped Indian bowlers gain the required confidence which made the task easier for the other wickets.
The game could have gone the other way if Pakistan would have not lost the early wickets. It was the first time that Fakhar Zaman was bowled for a duck. If Pakistan succeeded in adding 50 or more runes to their tally, it would have been not much easy for team India as it was.