Dubai: Indian bowlers were stunningly accurate but Pakistan managed to post a competitive 241 courtesy Saud Shakeel’s polished fifty and Khushdil Shah’s cameo in the Champions Trophy in Dubai Sunday.
Shakeel (62, 76b, 5×4) was largely fluent and added 104 runs for the third wicket with skipper Mohammad Rizwan (46), but Pakistan never really managed to break the shackles after opting to bat.
The pitch expectedly grew slow once the match entered the middle passage, and the precision of Indian bowlers made the run-making a laboured task with left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep led the way (3/40).
There was a period in Pakistan innings when both Rizwan and Shakeel failed to find the boundary rope for 55 consecutive deliveries.
However, they were also forced to traverse a cautious path because of the early departure of Babar Azam (23) and Imam-ul-Haq (10).
Azam looked million dollars while playing those trademark cover drives for a few boundaries off Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya.
But that desire to drive brought his doom as well. Pandya immediately pulled the length back after getting driven for a four and Azam’s full-throttle shot took an edge en route to KL Rahul’s big gloves.
Soon, Imam took off for a non-existent single and Axar Patel at mid-on just had to hit the stumps, a task he accomplished without any ado.
At 47 for two, Pakistan had their task cut out in a high-pressure match but Rizwan and Shakeel brought some stability to their innings with composed knocks.
India also had a couple of worrying points at this stage as veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and skipper Rohit Sharma had to stay off the field for some time.
Shami had to tend to his shin while Rohit looked in some discomfort primarily because of the heat here. However, both of them returned to the field to allay the concerns.
Amidst all this, Rizwan and Shakeel took Pakistan to 151 for two in the 34th over, and it was a burgeoning platform for them to aim for a total in the vicinity of 300.
But Rizwan’s adventurous shimmy down the track against Axar saw him losing the stumps, and from thereon Pakistan went on a downward spiral.
Shakeel, who played the pull with some conviction, perished to the same shot against Pandya, skying a simple catch to Axar in the deep.
Thereon, Salman Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah fell to Kuldeep’s guile as India tightened their grip.
Khushdil (38, 39 balls) played a couple of big shots, including the first six of Pakistan innings, that helped his side reach a healthy total in challenging batting conditions.
PTI
