In sport, one mistake can change the script. And that is what exactly happened in the iconic India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. In the 14th over, Tilak Varma (69 not out) survived a run out chance. Thereon, he never looked back as he steered India to a famous five-wicket win over their arch-rivals as they chased down the target of 148 in the final over.
Shivam Dube gave Tilak the required support. In the 15th over, he tonked Haris Rauf for a four and a six. In the 18th over, while facing the same bowler, he smashed one over mid-wicket. Dube did lose his wicket to Faheem Ashraf but Tilak showed nerves of steel by tonking Haris for a six. Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches with a boundary. On expected lines, Rinku ran around the ground to celebrate the victory.
The groundwork for India’s chase was laid by Tilak and Sanju Samson with a stand of 57. Tilak, who joined forces with Samson when India were in trouble, essayed punches, sweeps and the pick-up shot. Meanwhile, despite cracking a few strokes, Samson seemed to be struggling for rhythm. He even had a catch dropped before losing his wicket to Abrar Ahmed.
In front of a jam-packed stadium, Pakistan played with a fair amount of vigour to give India a run for their money. India needed a good start. Unfortunately, Abhishek Sharma, the swashbuckling opener, failed for once, caught at mid-on off a slower one. It soon became 10 for 2 when Suryakumar Yadav lofted a slower one to the fielder stationed at mid-off.
There were doubts about whether Salman Agha took the catch cleanly, but after watching multiple replays, the TV umpire judged that he had got both his hands under the ball. To make matters worse, Shubman Gill skipped down the deck and hit one straight to the fielder at mid-on. At that juncture, Samson and Tilak propped up the innings.
Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav’s box of tricks helped India chart a turnaround. At one point of time, Pakistan were in pole position at 113 for 1. However, Kuldeep took three scalps in a single over. Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy also chipped in with wickets as Pakistan suffered a major collapse, losing their last nine wickets for a mere 33 runs.
The slide started in the 13th over when Kuldeep removed Saim Ayub. In the very next over, Mohammad Haris chipped one straight to the fieder at long-off. The real turning point of the game came in the 15th over when Varun stuck to his plan of bowling a wider line as he prised out the dangerous Fakhar Zaman for 46.
Kuldeep then took over by ripping the lower-middle order, with a mixture of stock deliveries, googlies and clever changes in pace. He sent Agha, Afridi and Ashraf back to the pavilion. Indian spinners were also helped by some ordinary cricket from Pakistan, with a slew of batters trying slogs. Bumrah provided the finishing touches by picking up the scalps of Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz. His celebration after taking the wicket of Rauf was interesting too. The one positive sign for the Indian team was that they took all their catches.
The foundation stone for Pakistan’s competitive total was provided by Sahibzada Farhan (57 runs). He once again took the aggressive route versus Bumrah with a pull and loft. He also smacked Varun and Kuldeep for three sixes. Varun’s ability to get that bit of overspin proved to be decisive as Farhan mistimed his shot slightly and hit it to the fielder at mid-wicket. But his innings ended in vain.
Brief scores: Pakistan 146 in 19.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46; Kuldeep Yadav 4-30) lost to India 150/5 in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 69*; Faheem Ashraf 3-29) by five wickets
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