Asia Cup: Suryakumar's blitz, Kuldeep's magic lead India to seven-wicket win over Pakistan

Dubai [UAE], September 14 (ANI): India left Pakistan gobsmacked with an all-around effort to cruise to a seven-wicket victory with consummate ease in Dubai on Sunday to stay at the top of Group A at the ongoing Asia Cup. India gunned down the target with more than four overs to spare despite Saim Ayub leaving the world champions jolted in the powerplay.
After Kuldeep Yadav cast a spell with his left-arm wrist spin, captain Suryakumar Yadav played the captain's knock to add to Pakistan's misery in the rivalry fixture. While India roared with a comprehensive win, Pakistan perished, courtesy of their lacklustre performance across all facets of the game.
In pursuit of a paltry 128-run target, Abhishek Sharma went about the business with his usual flamboyant manner, and Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi fell in the firing line. He announced himself by tonking a four and a six in the first over while vice-captain Shubman Gill went after part-time ball tweaker Saim Ayub.
In the second over, Gill danced down the track to drill the ball straight down the ground for a four. On the next delivery, he lofted the ball over extra-cover for a sublime four. At the end, it was Ayub who had the last laugh. Gill's knack of ambling out of the crease came back to haunt him. He stepped out of the crease to defend the length, but the carrom-ball turned away, leaving him stranded. Gill stumbled while dragging his foot back and got stumped on 10(7).
Abhishek remained unfazed and flicked Shaheen for a towering maximum to keep the asking rate in check. He reeled in back-to-back boundaries off Ayub, which turned out to be the final action of his swashbuckling exploits. He went for glory but got caught tangled in Ayub's slower off-break and holed it straight to Faheem Ashraf, returning on a quick-fire 31(13).
Boundaries dried up with captain Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma negating the spin threat. Tilak showed flashes of brilliance with orthodox and unorthodox shots to find a couple of boundaries as India ended the powerplay on 61/2. While Suryakumar took his time to adjust to the conditions, Tilak continued to rotate the strike and patiently wait for boundary-hitting opportunities.
He eventually found it in the ninth over when spinner Sufiyan Muqeem left the ball in his arc and Tilak smoked the ball into the top tier at deep mid-wicket. Suryakumar found his groove with an exquisite back-cut to send the ball racing away for a four. Tilak was handed an unprecedented lifeline when he stood on 30 after Mohammad Nawaz dropped a sitter on his delivery in the 12th over.
The southpaw failed to make the most of the second life, adding just a solitary run before being bamboozled by Ayub on run-a-ball 31, pulling the curtains down on the 56-run stand. Suryakumar muscled the ball away for a couple of boundaries before Shivam Dube came down the track and clobbered the ball for a 90m towering six. Suryakumar applied the finishing touches with a massive slog sweep for a six to wrap up a seven-wicket victory. The Indian skipper returned unbeaten on 47(37) while Dube finished with 10*(7).
Earlier in the contest, Shaheen Afridi's 16-ball 33* injected some life into the fixture, which was heavily a one-sided affair in India's favour. After winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha opted to bat first. Pakistan's innings got off to a disastrous start as Saim Ayub was dismissed for a golden duck by Hardik Pandya on the very first legal delivery of the match, and Mohammad Haris came to the middle.
Indian star seamer Jasprit Bumrah removed Haris in the following over for just three after he tried to pull Bumrah over square leg. Farhan and Fakhar Zaman increased the scoring rate as Pakistan finished power-play on 42; however, Fakhar was removed by spinner Axar Patel in the 8th over for 17 off 15 balls.
Since the start of 2021, Fakhar Zaman averages 13 coming down the track to spinners with eight dismissals, the second most for a batter from a full member side behind Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Pakistan skipper Salman Agha's run drought in the ongoing Asia Cup continues as he was removed for three runs in 12 balls by Axar. After 10 overs, Pakistan were 49/4.
Pakistan tried to be aggressive against both pace and spin, but an outstanding bowling attack from India has just outclassed them. Kuldeep Yadav showed his magic as he gave a double blow to Pakistan, removing Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Nawaz on successive deliveries.
Farhan, the only Pakistani batter to get runs under his belt, was sent back to the pavilion by Yadav in the 17th over for 40 runs off 44 balls, including three sixes and a four. Shaheen Afridi opened up his arms and smashed Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy for six each.
Chakaravarthy, after being smashed for a six, removed Faheem Ashraf in the 18th over, and Sufiyan Muqeem joined Afridi in the middle. Muqeem slammed Bumrah for two fours in the 19th over before the veteran seamer cleaned him up for 10 off six balls.
Brief Scores: Pakistan: 127/9 (Sahibzada Farhan 40, Shaheen Afridi 33*, Kuldeep Yadav 3/18) lost to India: 131/3 in 15.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 47*, Abhishek Sharma 31, Saim Ayub 3/35). (ANI)