India vs. Pakistan has been the paragon of drama, excitement and controversy when it comes to cricket. After the weather spoiled their group game, the neighbours met again in a titanic clash as Asia Cup 2023 edges closer to the climax. Pakistan looked to bolster their chances of securing a berth in the final, while India was eager to get the first points on the board in the Super 4 stage.
Team Lineups
Shreyas Iyer’s back spasm forced India to pick KL Rahul in their team sheet. Returning front-line bowler Jasprit came in for Mohammed Shami. Pakistan played with an unchanged eleven from their thumping victory against Bangladesh.
India
1. Rohit Sharma (Cap.) 2. Shubman Gill 3. Virat Kohli 4. KL Rahul 5. Ishan Kishan (WK) 6. Hardik Pandya 7. Ravindra Jadeja 8. Shardul Thakur 9. Jasprit Bumrah 10. Kuldeep Yadav 11. Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan
1. Fakhar Zaman 2. Imam-Ul-Haq 3. Babar Azam (Cap.) 4. Mohammad Rizwan (WK) 5. Salman Ali Agha 6. Iftikhar Ahmed 7. Shadab Khan 8. Faheem Ashraf 9. Shaheen Afridi 10. Naseem Shah 11. Haris Rauf
Pakistani skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first on a Colombo pitch that had hints of moisture in it.
Captaincy & Tactics
Right from the first ball, the tactic of the Indians to tackle the new ball was very evident: they wanted to attack the Pakistani quicks. Rohit Sharma simply brought back his vintage form by hitting 10 boundaries in his scintillating knock of 56. The ploy of scoring runs quickly showed dividends and Pakistani bowlers failed to find any type of rhythm. Rohit also put his game reading skills to bring Hardik into the fore and eventually sent Babar Azam early back to the pavilion.
Babar Azam looked a distant figure in this clash of titans and failed to inspire any fightback from his teammates. The No. 1 batsman in the ODI format was dismissed by a magnificent inswinging delivery from Pandya and Pakistan lost their way afterwards.
Batting Analysis
India started their innings by flexing their muscles and both Sharma and Gill put the Pakistani bowlers to the sword. Both the openers posted quick fifties before getting dismissed rather cheaply.
KL Rahul was a late inclusion in the team because of an injury to Shreyas Iyer. The Karnataka batsman grabbed the opportunity with both hands with a brilliant knock mixed with poise and power. He hit a six off Iftikhar through a slop sweep and another one from the bowling of Shadab going against the spin.
Virat Kohli was phenomenal with the bat once again facing Pakistan. He played along the ground really well, his first 100 runs off 86 balls had only 36 in boundaries. This is Kohli’s fourth consecutive ton in Colombo as he became the highest century (5) scoring batsman of 2023. One of the true greats of the game instantaneously picked up the pace of the wicket and batted accordingly. India scored 105 runs from their last 10 overs.
Pakistan seemed to have been playing on a different pitch altogether once they came out to bat. The openers looked uncomfortable early on and the scenes had little improvement from there on.
Fakhar Zaman’s 27 off 50 portrays a realistic picture of the hardship they faced. Babar, Rizwan, and Imam were the victims of swing bowling of the highest order. Salman and Iftikhar got past the 20 mark but it proved too insignificant chasing down a mammoth total.
Bowling Analysis
The injury to Haris Rauf handicapped the Pakistani bowling on the reserve day. The express bowler from Rawalpindi is the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with nine and Babar Azam seemed to have no answer on how to replace him. Shaheen Afridi failed to find the right length to ball and conceded runs at a haemorrhaging rate. Naseem was the most miserly among the bowlers, but even he gave away 53 runs. Iftikhar Ahmed was being targeted by Kohli & Rahul who were regularly depositing him to the stands.
The Indian bowlers made the most of their chance to have a rare outing against Pakistan. Bumrah swung the ball both ways and removed Imam with an absolute peach on off stump. Mohammed Siraj made life difficult for the batters with his energy and pace. Hardik Pandya staked a claim for being the third seamer in the upcoming World Cup campaign with a brilliant performance with the new ball. The nipped one back sharply to comprehensively bowl Babar out. Kuldeep was the star of the show however by picking up a fifer for only 25 runs. His whole repertoire of spin bowling came into view with spin, zip, and turn. The only bowler to have picked up two hat tricks for India in ODI cricket proved he is the right man to lead the spin department at the World Cup starting next month.
Fielding Analysis
Pakistan’s fielding has shown massive signs of improvement as the present young side looks sharper and fitter than any other Pakistani side before. But they were horrible in catching and ground fielding against their biggest rivals. Shubman Gill was given an early life by the slip cordon in a comedy of errors. Naseem Shah let Virat slip away after botching an opportunity in the 42nd over.
India was almost impeccable in their fielding performance after a missed opportunity by Rohit Sharma in the slip. The fielders backed the bowlers brilliantly to blow Pakistan out of the water.
Key Performances
Virat Kohli was oozing class as he decimated the Pakistani attack with fierce striking. The Delhi-born Indian legend is now the fastest batsman (267 innings) ever to reach the 13,000 runs milestone in ODI cricket.
Virat was in pristine touch as he took down the Pakistani attack that seemed hapless at times. The former skipper put on an unbeaten record stand of 233 with KL Rahul also in his groove.
After a long layoff, KL Rahul looked eager to make up for the lost time. The wicketkeeper-batsman averages 64.68 in ODIs when he bats at No. 4 or lower.
The openers started off the previous day in a daredevil mood by taking the attack to Pakistani quicks. All four batsmen of India posted 50+ scores to set a record score against their arch-rivals.
Pakistan batsmen struggled from the early hours as Indian bowlers were putting in unplayable deliveries on a regular basis. Jasprit Bumrah showed once again what India has missed over the last year, he swung the ball both ways to beat the bat.
Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya also had fun with the new ball.
But Kuldeep Yadav stole the spotlight as the left-arm wrist spinner took a fifer to steer India to an impressive victory. Kuldeep all but sealed a spot in the World Cup after becoming the highest wicket-taker for India this year. He has taken 27 wickets in 14 games at an average of 18.16.
Turning Point
India was on top right from the beginning and it proved to be a one-way traffic throughout the game. It’s quite hard to pinpoint a major event that changed the whole complexion of the game. However, the impeccable innings of Virat Kohli shaped the Indian innings and laid the foundation for the bowlers to pounce. Kohli took minimal risk as only 54 of his 122 runs came from boundaries. The fitness freak dealt mostly in singles and twos in a prime example of proactive cricket.
Match Result
India recorded their largest win against Pakistan by a massive margin of 228 runs.
Player of the Match
Virat Kohli was unanimously selected as the top performer of the match for a dazzling innings for the ages.
Brief Scorecard
| India | Pakistan |
| Total: India 356/2 (50 overs) | Total: 128 (32 overs) |
| Virat Kohli 122* (94) | Fakhar Zaman 27 (50) |
| KL Rahul 111* (106) | Salman Ali Agha 23 (32) |
| Shadab Khan 1/71 | Kuldeep Yadav 5/25 |
| Shaheen Afridi 1/79 | Shardul Thakur 1/16 |
Match Highlights
Match Wrap-Up
Cricket fought hard against the weather and eventually we were able to watch the drama unfold out in the center. India’s explosive batting and crafty bowling turned out to be too much for Pakistan. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul dominated with the willow and Kuldeep Yadav spun trouble for the Pakistani middle order. Team India’s grit and fitness will be put to the test as they face Sri Lanka on the 12th of September on a grueling schedule of playing consecutively for three days.
