Kohli brilliant as India thrashes Pakistan in Asia Cup T20 match
Hardik Pandya bowled 3 for 8 in 3.3 overs
By Kersi Meher-Homji
In the inaugural Twenty20 Asia Cup match currently played in Bangladesh, India beat traditional rivals Pakistan by five wickets on Saturday (27 February).
Sent in to bat by India’s skipper MS Dhoni on a lively grassy pitch in Mirpur, India dismissed Pakistan for a meagre 83. This is Pakistan’s lowest total in a T20 International when batting first. Medium-pacer Hardik Pandya had an impressive spell of 3 for 8 in 3.3 overs.
India also started disastrously losing 3 wickets for 8 runs. Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir made a magnificent comeback after six years exclusion for spot-fixing in 2010. Bowling with vengeance, he dismissed India’s opening batsmen Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane for ducks and Suresh Raina for one.
Then came Virat Kohli the saviour on the field. He scored 49 fluent runs in 51 balls, hitting seven fours and India won by 5 wickets with 27 balls to spare. He was the worthy Man of the Match.
There was more than just cricket in this match. Dhoni provided match ticket to his Pakistan-born fan Mohammad Bashir. He is a 62 year-old restaurant owner in Chicago who visited Mirpur to watch the India ”“ Pak match, thanks to Dhoni’s gesture.
“My support is for both the teams. I want Pakistan to win the match but don’t want Team India to lose it either”, Bashir said before the match on Saturday to India’s prominent cricket writer Bipin Dani.
For a short time it became “Hindi ”“ Paki bhai bhai.”
India leads the Points Table with four points having defeated Bangladesh by 45 runs on Wednesday. India will meet Sri Lanka and UAE in the next two rounds.
The Final will be on next Sunday the 6th March in Mirpur, Bangladesh.
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