In a thrilling Super Fours clash of the Asia Cup in Dubai, Pakistan powered to 171/5 against rivals India, thanks to Sahibzada Farhan’s explosive 58 and Faheem Ashraf’s late fireworks. The match on Sunday highlighted India’s fielding woes, with four dropped catches handing Pakistan a huge boost and their highest-ever T20I total batting first against India.
Pakistan kicked off aggressively, shuffling their lineup to send Fakhar Zaman to open with Farhan, while Saim Ayub dropped to number three. Farhan faced an early scare when a ball jarred his hand near the splice, needing physio attention and heavy strapping. Moments later, he edged one to third man, but young Abhishek Sharma misjudged it and let it slip through his fingers.
Fakhar made his mark right away, smashing back-to-back boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah. India struck back in the powerplay when Hardik Pandya’s off-cutter induced a thick edge from Fakhar, which Sanju Samson snagged. A quick umpire review confirmed the catch, sending Fakhar packing for 15 off 9 balls. He looked frustrated, even chatting with coach Mike Hesson on his way off.
Fielding errors kept piling up for India. Kuldeep Yadav shelled Ayub on 4 off Varun Chakravarthy’s spin, helping Pakistan race to 55/1—the best powerplay score against India in the tournament. In the eighth over, Abhishek’s nightmare continued as he dropped Farhan again at long-on, turning the chance into a six.
Ayub and Farhan piled on the pressure, hammering two massive sixes off Kuldeep next over. Farhan celebrated his fifty with a cheeky rocket-launcher bat gesture after another six. Runs slowed when Ayub fell for 21 off 17 balls, caught by Abhishek off Shivam Dube. Boundaries dried up, and Kuldeep snapped up Hussain Talat for 10 off 11, caught trying a reverse sweep off Chakravarthy.
Farhan’s luck ran out soon after, holing out to skipper Suryakumar Yadav for 58 off 45. Pakistan needed a spark, and captain Salman Agha delivered with a straight six off Kuldeep. Mohammad Nawaz joined the fun, swatting 17 runs in the 18th over off Dube, including a midwicket four that just cleared the ropes.
Bumrah returned for the penultimate over but leaked runs, with Nawaz run out for 21 off 19 in a mix-up—strolling out of his crease without spotting Suryakumar breaking the stumps. Faheem Ashraf ignited the death overs, smashing Bumrah’s full toss for six, then surviving a dropped sitter by Shubman Gill. He capped it off with another six off Pandya’s final ball, as Pakistan grabbed 42 runs in the last three overs for a daunting chase.
India’s fielding blunders and Pakistan’s bold batting set up an exciting showdown in this high-stakes Asia Cup encounter.
Brief scores: Pakistan 171/5 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 58, Saim Ayub 21; Shivam Dube 2/33) vs India.
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