On September 11 last year, the Indian cricket team had a perfect game against none other than their arch-rivals, the Pakistan cricket team, to register one of the most famous wins in the IND vs PAK ODI history.
In their Super Four encounter of the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo, India hammered Pakistan by a huge margin of 228 runs. This is India’s biggest victory in ODIs against Pakistan in terms of runs and Pakistan’s second-biggest ODI loss ever.
The performances of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav stood out so spectacularly that good displays from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Jasprit Bumrah are barely recalled.
This India vs Pakistan match was played across two days due to rain and was the only match in the Super Four round that was allotted a reserve day.
Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first. India received a blow just before the match when Shreyas Iyer was out with back spasms. This gave an opportunity to KL Rahul, who was coming back after an injury.
Also Read: IND vs PAK head-to-head record
While Naseem Shah bowled probing lengths, Rohit Sharma was off to a flyer as he cracked Shaheen Afridi for a six and would later hit two sixes to Shadab. Once Naseem was off, Rohit and Shubman Gill lifted gears and took down the Pakistani bowlers. The pair recorded a century stand at over run-a-ball. Their partnership yielded 121 runs off 100 balls before both got out, Rohit for 56 (49) and Gill for 58 (52).
Soon after, rain arrived, and no more play was possible on the day. The game resumed on the next day, the reserve day. Before the game resumed, Pakistan received a dent as Haris Rauf got injured and had to leave the match midway.
Rahul, returning from an injury, got going straightaway and reached his fifty in 61 balls, and Kohli, an ODI great, was building up his innings smoothly with a 55-ball fifty. Both batters went into overdrive mode soon and notched up their centuries, Rahul off 100 balls and Kohli off 84 balls. This was another Kohli masterclass against Pakistan to savor for everyone.
By this time, the Pakistani bowlers had given up, and their captain had no plans on how to stop the Indian duo, who further cashed in. Rahul finished with 111* off 106, Kohli with 122* off 94, and India with 356/2. Kohli and Rahul shared a partnership of 233* runs, which is the highest for any wicket in an ODI Asia Cup and the highest for India against Pakistan in ODIs.
IND vs PAK On This Day in 2023: Indian bowlers dismantle Pakistan for a low total
The total of 356 and two centuries in an innings belied the nature of the pitch, which was tacky, two-paced, and offered both seam movement and turn. All of it was displayed when India bowled and Pakistan batters. The Indian bowlers bowled excellently, using every bit of assistance from the pitch, while the Pakistani batters looked clueless, epitomized by how Hardik Pandya’s in-seaming delivery knocked Babar Azam’s stumps.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled five overs in his first spell and conceded only 18 runs for one wicket with one maiden. Pandya bowled five overs for figures of 1/17. But the star of the bowling show was left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep rolled on from over number 20 and took five wickets by over number 32. Pakistan crashed for only 128 runs, losing by 256 runs.
After beating Pakistan, India went on to defeat Sri Lanka in their next game in the Super Four and again in the final to clinch the Asia Cup 2023 trophy.
Also Read: India vs Pakistan match results
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