Asia Cup 2018, India vs Pakistan: Player ratings from India's thumping win over their arch-rivals
India vs Pakistan is one of the most fierce rivalries in the sporting world. Millions of fans watch the match between India and Pakistan across the globe, and the expectations are always extremely high.
India displayed skill and quality of the highest order as they restricted the Pakistani batsmen to only 163 runs, taking 10 wickets in under 44 overs. They won the match with 20 overs to spare and continued their tremendous form.
The Indian batting seemed to be strong and confident throughout the innings and dominated the opposition bowlers. Pakistan would hope to bounce back as a team and perform well in the forthcoming fixtures of the Asia Cup.
Here are the player ratings from the match:
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq: 1/10
Imam was very subdued at the crease while batting. He played the Indian bowlers cautiously and didn't try to attack them initially. When he tried to charge down against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he could only nick it to the keeper. The 22-year-old scored only two runs in 7 balls.
Fakhar Zaman: 3/10
The 28-year-old has an average of 72 in ODIs, with 3 centuries including a double century. However, the destructive Pakistani opener failed to perform today as he lost his wicket for a duck to Bhuvneshwar after facing 9 deliveries. He succumbed to the pressure and took the risk of pulling a short-good length ball, edging it to Chahal at midwicket.
With the ball, he was consistent, bowling 6.3 overs and conceding only 25 runs. The all-rounder would hope to perform well with both the bat and ball in the upcoming fixtures.
Babar Azam: 7/10
Babar Azam is touted as the next big thing in Pakistani cricket. At the age of 23, he has 8 centuries and 7 half-centuries to his name at a stunning average of over 54. He proved his consistency and reliability yet again as he scored 47 off 62 deliveries after the fall of two early wickets. Azam formed a good partnership with the experienced Shoaib Malik before losing his wicket to Kuldeep Yadav's brilliance. He was completely deceived by the delivery and misjudged the turn that led to the fall of his wicket.
Shoaib Malik: 7/10
The experienced Shoaib Malik played beautifully and put together an 80 run partnership with Babar Azam. However, he was run out by Ambati Rayudu and didn't show any effort in making it back to the crease after refusing the run. The 36-year-old would've hoped to stay on and continue his innings to help Pakistan achieve a formidable total.
Sarfraz Ahmed: 2.5/10
The Pakistani skipper didn't have a great match with the bat as he only scored 6 runs off 12 balls before losing his wicket to a stunning catch by Manish Pandey on the boundary line. He tried to go the aerial route by attacking Jadhav, but didn't get the right elevation to beat Pandey's athleticism. The 31-year-old will hope to play a captain's innings in the upcoming match(es) and see Pakistan through to the finals of the Asia Cup.
Asif Ali: 2.5/10
The 26-year-old had a decent start and was looking comfortable at the crease. However, he lost his wicket to Jadhav after scoring 9 runs in 10 balls. Asif attempted to cut a short and wide delivery and only managed an outside edge that went straight into Dhoni's gloves. The middle-order batsman would need to provide more stability to the Pakistan team in the upcoming matches.
Shadab Khan: 5.5/10
The 19-year-old felt the pressure of playing such an iconic match. Shadab came forward to play the cover drive but the ball went past his outside edge, and Dhoni whisked the bails off in his typically quick fashion. He was another victim of Jadhav's and scored only 8 runs in 19 deliveries. However, the youngster bowled took the wicket of the Indian skipper with the ball. He bowled the right lines and should've bowled more than the mere 1.3 overs he was given.
Faheem Ashraf: 5.5/10
The bowling all-rounder tried to steady the innings and scored a stable 21 runs in 44 balls. However, he wasn't able to convert his start to a much needed big innings for the Pakistan team. He lost his wicket to Bumrah's slower delivery as he launched the ball into the sky and was caught by Dhawan near the mid-wicket region. With the ball, Faheem took the wicket of the dangerous Shikhar Dhawan.
Mohammad Amir: 5/10
The Pakistani bowler played a crucial innings with the bat as he scored 18 runs off 26 deliveries. However, he didn't have any support at the other end and was not out at the end of the Pakistani innings.
In the second innings, he bowled the right lengths and was at his consistent best. However, he wasn't able to collect any wickets and put pressure on the experienced batting lineup.
Hasan Ali: 1/10
It was an uneventful day for the Pakistani speedster as the Indian openers dominated him. He bowled 4 overs and conceded 33 runs at an expensive run rate of 8.25. Pakistan will hope that he gets back his form and performs well in the forthcoming matches.
Usman Khan: 3/10
Despite bowling 15 dot balls, the 24-year-old pacer didn't have the best time with the ball as he was smashed for 2 fours and 2 sixes in his 4 overs. He finished by conceding 27 runs in his 4 overs.