Rohit Sharma celebrates after Fakhar Zaman dismissal: Rohit Sharma was seen rejoicing as Fakhar Zaman was walking back to the pavilion.
Advertisement
During the fifth match of the ongoing Asia Cup between India and Pakistan at Dubai, Indian captain Sharma was seen joining his hands to (perhaps) the almighty after Indian got the prices scalp of Zaman.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed had won the toss and chose to bat. In the all-important clash against India, Pakistan chose not to tinker with the winning combination which had taken the field against Hong Kong in their first match.
On the other hand, India made two changes to their squad from yesterday. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were included into the side in place of Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed. To the surprise of many, India persisted with Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik, not giving an opportunity to Lokesh Rahul.
In what came as a double blow for India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed the Pakistani openers within two overs. Having looked rusty yesterday against Hong Kong, there were a lot of talks regarding Bhuvneshwar’s prospects of being dropped today. However, by providing India with two early breakthroughs, the 28-year old pacer has proved his worth today.
The Indian new ball bowlers started with a pinpoint line and length, not letting Pakistan’s free-flowing openers dictate terms with the new ball. With the run rate dipping below a run per over in the first four overs, the batsmen were expected to take a certain amount of risk.
This was exactly what brought the curtains down for Pakistan. On the first delivery of the fifth over, in a bid to up the ante, Zaman pulled a short of a length delivery high in the air. Minimal control over the short ball saw the ball rising up, only to come down to be caught by Yuzvendra Chahal at mid-wicket. Zaman ended up scoring 0 (9).
Watch the full video:
