Asia Cup 2018: Top 3 bowling performances by Indian Pacers against Pakistan in Asia Cup
Arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, have till date played 12 ODI games against each other in the Asia Cup tournament and only once an Indian pacer had managed to pick up a four-wicket haul! This stat comes as no surprise as all the Asia Cup games are being played on the slow pitches similar to the sub-continent conditions that heavily favors spinners.
Let us look at the three best bowling performances by Indian pacers against Pakistan in the Asia Cup tournament.
#3 Roger Binny (1984)
In a rain-marred Asia Cup game in Sharjah, Roger Binny bowled brilliantly to take India over the line against Pakistan. He registered bowling figures of 3 for 33 in his 9.4 overs, the best for an Indian pacer then against Pakistan in an Asia Cup match!
Current head coach of Team India, Ravi Shastri, also picked up a three-wicket haul in that game in 1984. He registered figures of 3 for 40 in his 10 overs. Four of the Pakistani batsmen departed as run-outs and as a result, Pakistan fell short of India’s total (188 for 4) by a huge margin of 54 runs. With this victory, India were also crowned champions of Asia Cup 1984.
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#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2018)
Bhuvneshwar (a.k.a Bhuvi) finally had a good day in the office with a three-wicket haul in the fifth match of the Asia Cup 2018. He bowled 34 overs in his previous five ODIs for India and conceded 210 runs (6.14 runs per over), which was so unlike him. If you are not aware, Bhuvi’s career bowing economy rate in ODIs is just below 5.
In the game against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018 tournament, Bhuvi registered bowling figures of 3 for 15 in his 7 overs and also delivered a maiden over. He dismissed both the Pakistani openers, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman, and the wicket of Hasan Ali. Most importantly, all these three batsmen departed for a single-digit score/ Fakhar departed for a 9-ball duck, first naught in his ODI career while Imam and Hasan departed with scores of 2 & 1 respectively.
Also, Bhuvi’s 3 for 15 are his best bowling figures against Pakistan in ODIs, his previous best was 2/19 at Edgbaston in the Champions Trophy 2013. Overall, Bhuvi played 8 ODIs against Pakistan and picked up 11 wickets which involves a 3-wicket haul and four 2-wicket hauls.
#1 Venkatesh Prasad (1997)
In the rain-marred game between India and Pakistan at Colombo in 1997, Venkatesh Prasad was excelling with his bowling figures of 4 for 17 in his 5 overs. The match was only played for 9 overs and rain had the final say abandoning the match. Pakistan’s total was 30 for the loss of 5 wickets after 9 overs when rain abandoned the play.
Venkatesh Prasad picked up the wickets of Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saleem Malik in the five overs he bowled. Had he bowled his remaining quota of 5 overs, he would have become the first Indian pacer to pick up a five-wicket haul against Pakistan in Asia Cup. Venkatesh Prasad, till date, is the only Indian bowler to pick up a four-wicket haul against Pakistan in an Asia Cup.