COLOMBU: Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul took India to score 356 in 50 overs against Pakistan in the Super Four stage Asia Cup 2023 match in Colombo on Monday. Both Kohli and K.L. Rahul smashed splendid centuries against Pakistan and remained unbeaten. They outclassed Pakistani pacers while smashing them to all sides of the boundary. Kohli scored 122, while K.L. Rahul added 111 to the total. The match was played on a reserved day after it was washed out by rain yesterday.
From the Pakistani side, Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan took one wicket each while conceding 79 and 71 runs in their respective spells. Other bowlers, including Naseem Shah, Faheem Ashraf and Iftikhar, remained wicketless.
Earlier the contest resumed on the reserve day, where India started its from 147-2 against Pakistan. Rohit Sharma scored 56, while Shubman Gill added 58 to the total.
Last day, the match was washed out due to sporadic rain, whereas only 24.1 overs were bowled throughout the day, taking the contest to the reserve day.
Interestingly, the contest between the two arch-rivals is the only one in the tournament having a reserve day. Media reported concerns from the coaches of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh over having reserve day for the only match.
On reserve day, the contest was once again delayed for almost two hours due to light drizzle and wet outfield; however, finally, the contest began. According to weather forecast channels, the contest is possibly to be affected again in the evening.
However, on Monday, Pakistani pacers came to the ground without the in-form Haris Rauf due to an injury last day. Officials from Pakistan’s side are of the view that the injury was not very serious, however, they wanted Haris Rauf to avoid further injury.
It is worth noting here that Cricket experts showed their reservation against Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah who repeatedly refused the Pakistan Crick Board’s request to change venue of the match from Colombo to other venues having less chance of rain. The intermittent rain in Colombo has deeply affected the smooth flow of the game and discouraged the spectators from coming to the ground.
Pakistan Squad
Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi.
India Squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Siraj.
