IND vs PAK: Scorecard, Highlights and Results of India and Pakistan’s previous match in Asia Cup
Team India will begin their 2023 Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Pallekele in Sri Lanka on Saturday, September 2. The much-anticipated game is scheduled to be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
India played their last game in the Asia Cup in 2022, which game against Afghanistan in Dubai on September 8. The Men in Blue won the game by 101 runs to end the tournament on a positive note as they were already disqualified for the final after losing to eventual champions Sri Lanka by six wickets in their previous game.
Asked to bat first, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul starred with the bat as the duo put on 119-run partnership for the opening wicket. Kohli smashed an unbeaten 122 off 61 balls at a strike rate of 200, including six maximums and 12 boundaries. It was also his first-ever century in the T20I format. KL Rahul, on the other hand, hit 62 off 41, including two sixes and four boundaries.
Suryakumar Yadav failed to deliver, scoring 6 off 2 but Rishabh Pant provided the finishing touches, with 20 off 16 balls, including three boundaries. As a result, the Men in Blue posted 212/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Fareed Ahmed emerged as the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, finishing with figures of 2/57.
Defending 213, The Indian bowling unit restricted Afghanistan to just 111/8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar starred with the ball, finishing with stellar figures of 5/4, while Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepak Hooda scalped one wicket apiece.
Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 64 off 59, including two sixes and four boundaries as other batters failed to deliver. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were the only other batters to reach double figures.
Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match as India won by 101 runs.
Watch the highlights here.
Click here to check out the IND vs AFG full scorecard in 2022 Asia Cup
Pakistan’s scorecard from their last Asia Cup game
Unlike India, Pakistan played their latest Asia Cup game in 2023, where they beat Nepal by 238 runs in the opener.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 342/6 in their allotted 50 overs. The hosts had a worst possible start as they were 25/2 in just 6.1 overs as openers Fakhar Zaman (14) and Imam-ul-Haq (6) departed cheaply.
Captain Babar Azam then led from the front, scoring 151 off 131 balls, including four sixes and 14 boundaries. The right-handed batter also shared an 81-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan for the third wicket to recover the Men in Green from an early scare.
Iftikhar Ahmed then joined Babar, smashing 109* off 71, including four sixes and 11 boundaries. He also shared a 214-run stand with Babar for the fifth wicket. Agha Salman (5) and Shadab Khan (4), though, departed for single-digit scores.
Sompal Kami emerged as the pick of the bowlers for Nepal, finishing with figures of 2/85, while Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane scalped one wicket apiece.
Chasing 343, Nepal were bundled out for 104 in just 23.4 overs. Sompal Kami (28), Aarif Sheikh (26) and Gulsan Jha (13) were the only batters to reach double figures.
Shadab Khan starred with the bat, returning with figures of 4/27, while Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf picked up two wickets apiece. Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz scalped one apiece.
Click here to check out the PAK vs NEP full scorecard in 2023 Asia Cup.