"Bahot saare Padosiyon ke TV bach gaye aaj" - Irfan Pathan trolls Pakistan as rain forces washout after India set 267-run target
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took a jibe at Pakistan after rain abandoned their Asia Cup 2023 clash against India without a ball bowled in the second innings at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy.
The cricketer-turned-commentator joked that the persistent showers saved plenty of television sets from being destroyed. In the past, cricket fans in Pakistan have broken television sets and burnt players' posters to express their frustration at the men's team losing.
The same happened after the 2015 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan when the latter lost comprehensively by 76 runs. Batting first, the Men in Blue made 300 on the back of Virat Kohli's century. The Men in Green never got going in the chase, with Misbah-ul-Haq's men getting bowled out for 224.
Pathan took to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle and wrote:
"Bahot saare Padosiyon ke TV bach gaye aaj;)"
Keeper-batter Ishan Kishan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya shone with half-centuries to rescue India from a precarious 66-4 after a top-order collapse. The pair put on 138 for the fifth wicket; however, the Men in Blue again collapsed and were eventually all out for 266 when they seemed on track to reach 300.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of Pakistan bowlers against India
As far as the No. 1 ODI team's performance goes, they will be fairly happy with their bowling performance, especially how cheaply they dismissed their arch-rivals' top-four batters. Shaheen Shah Afridi rearranged both Rohit Sharma's and Virat Kohli's stumps in his consecutive overs following the first rain-induced break.
Right-arm paceman Haris Rauf dismissed Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill, followed by breaking the 138-run stand between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya by claiming the former.
Afridi's final two victims were Ravindra Jadeja and Pandya, who top-scored with 87.
Naseem Shah came among the wickets later, dismissing Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah. Pakistan's spinners, however, took a pounding as Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz gave away 112 runs in 17 wicketless overs.
Nevertheless, Babar Azam and co. have now qualified for the Super 4 stage.