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IND vs PAK, Asia Cup final: No respite for Haris Rauf, Kuldeep recovers with a roar, Bumrah responds and Shaheen-Faheem ace the clever cutters | Cricket News

Times of IndiaBy No Comments6 Mins Read
India vs pakistan asia Cup Haris Rauf Jasprit Bumrah kuldeep Yadav


Haris Rauf has already had a heartbreak moment against India at the MCG in 2022 when his penultimate over ended up swinging the game in favour of India, thanks to Virat Kohli. On Sunday, he had a chance to redeem, but his last three overs, especially his second proved to be the game changer – albeit unfavourably – as he conceded 17 runs that gave India the momentum going into the end overs. Though he bowled a relatively better third over, but Shivam Dube spoiled it by spanking the last ball for a six. And needing 10 to defend, Tilak Varma’s six off the second ball ended all of Pakistan’s hopes as Rauf went for 50 in his 3.4 overs, costing Pakistan the title.

Farhan frustrated

31 off 25 balls is not the best of scores within the powerplay of a T20 for an opener who bats through the six overs. But even in that curious start, Sahibzada Farhan had managed to hit four fours and a six, two of those boundaries coming in the most expensive over of the powerplay off Jasprit Bumrah no less. But strangely enough, he had better momentum in his innings just as the fielding restrictions were relaxed. He hit the last ball of the seventh over for six, picked up a four next over too and then smashed a straight six off Varun Chakaravarthy in the 10th over. But the wily Indian spinner dragged his length back and Farhan missed out on converting the pull shot into six, as he couldn’t judge the elevation. India’s catching has been ordinary in this tournament, but Tilak Varma dealt with the ring of fire (the low floodlights around the roof of the stadium) impressively. The nature of the dismissal brought out a big cry of frustration from Farhan as he smashed his bat into the turf and walked off the field berating himself. It was some timely relief for India.

— Vinayakk Mohanarangan

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Kuldeep has the final laugh

Having bowled two expensive overs to start his day, where he conceded 11 and 13 runs, a lot was riding on Kuldeep Yadav in his remaining two overs. Being the X-factor option for the middle-overs, he had played a key role the other night against Sri Lanka. And given the ball back after Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma were taken apart, Kuldeep’s third over showed why he can’t be kept silent for long. With Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub counter-attacking, the left-arm wrist-spinner varied not just his length, but the line as well, forcing him to go off-side. With Kuldeep mixing the pace, it was always fraught with risk. And Saim paid the price, as he went for the cut, and couldn’t control it as it lobbed to the hands of Jasprit Bumrah at covers. Then skipper Salman Agha slogged at one needlessly, letting Sanju Samson take his second straight catch. 2-29 not too long after those two expensive overs, on the first ball of his last over.

– Venkata Krishna B

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Losing the way

With India not having Hardik Pandya around, Pakistan seemed to make the most of their thin attack by targeting Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma. Having got the impetus, they tried to continue the carnage against the spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel. But once Kuldeep removed Saim Ayub, Varun and Axar played their part. In four successive overs, it all went downhill for Pakistan as the Indian tweakers slowed the pace down. If Axar removed Mohammad Haris and Hussain Talat in successive overs – one with a flighted one and another with a slightly flat trajectory – Varun, after being hit by Fakhar for a six the previous delivery, slowed down the next and the left-handed ended up skying it to Kuldeep at backward point. India were not done yet, as Kuldeep struck again in his last over, this time removing captain Salman Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf as Pakistan who were 113/1, found themselves at 134/8 in the space of 5 overs.

– Venkata Krishna B

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Plane celebration

In the previous match, Pakistan seamer Haris Rauf’s gestures on the field — where he implied a fighter jet crash in reference to Operation Sindoor — had handed him a match fee of 30 per cent by the match referee. While Indian players had stayed away from making any gestures in the previous two outings, on Sunday, after dismissing Rauf with a yorker for his first wicket of the night, Bumrah celebrated with a similar gesture, indicating a jet crash before the television cameras cut to a different frame. A tournament where political messages have been at the forefront, the final was no exception.

– Venkata Krishna B

Cutters leave Indians stuttering

In conditions where quick runs against the new ball were always going to be precious, the intention from the Indian top-order was on expected lines. They were going to hit the top-gear straight away. Pakistan were up for it. Instead of going all out pace, their seamers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf didn’t waste any time to read the conditions and brought out the cutters. It forced India batsmen to rush through the shots as Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav departed to slower deliveries giving Pakistan the start they desperately wanted.

– Venkata Krishna B




The postIND vs PAK, Asia Cup final: No respite for Haris Rauf, Kuldeep recovers with a roar, Bumrah responds and Shaheen-Faheem ace the clever cutters | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express

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