Asia Cup 2018: Twitter erupts as Bhuvneshwar Kumar removes Pakistan's openers cheaply
The most awaited match of the Asia Cup began earlier today. Even though it is a dead rubber, the excitement among the fans is palpable. While an unchanged Pakistan elected to bat after winning the toss, India brought in Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur.
Post toss comments from the captains:
Rohit Sharma: Would've batted first. Nevertheless, we now know what we're doing. Have to accept the fact that we were rusty against HK. They played well, showed great determination. To cross the line was a great deal. A fresh game today, guys looking forward to it. Bumrah back, Pandya back too. Shardul and Khaleel miss out
Sarfraz Ahmed: Will bat first. Looks like a good batting pitch, hope to get runs and put them under pressure. Same team. Have to score 280-plus.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Pakistan Playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan
Powerplay report:
The Indian opening bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah got off to a great start. While Bumrah bowled his first two overs as maidens, Bhuvneshwar Kumar too was accurate and was rewarded with the wickets of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman.
In the first five overs, Pakistan could manage only four runs for the loss of two wickets. In the next five overs, Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik ensured that Pakistan did not lose another wicket. At the end of the ten overs, Pakistan were 25-2 with the experienced Shoaib Malik trying to build a partnership with Babar Azam.
Here's how Twitter reacted to India's exploits in the first powerplay: