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Cricket Asia Cup 2023

'Baal baal bach gaye' - Fans react as IND vs PAK encounter in Asia Cup 2023 called off due to rain

The IND vs PAK encounter in Asia Cup 2023 had to be called off due to rain. Here's a brief report with some furstrated reactions from fans.

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Asia Cup 2023: IND vs PAK

Asia Cup 2023: IND vs PAK (Source: Twitter)

The action returned in the Asia Cup 2023 after a day’s break with the big clash. Tournament favourites Team India opened their campaign against Pakistan in Kandy under an overcast sky. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that attracted mixed opinions from fans. They started well with openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma until rain interrupted play. With the first restart, a top-order collapse started to take shape as Indian fans grew frustrated.

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Rohit Sharma (11 off 22), Shubman Gill (10 off 32), Virat Kohli (4 off 7) and Shreyas Iyer (14 off 9) departed for cheap scores. Pakistan’s new ball bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf led carnage over India’s top-order, reducing them to 66/4. However, a rescue mission saw Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya stitch a 138-run partnership. Kishan with 82 off 81, including nine fours and two sixes, and Hardik Pandya with 87 off 90, including seven fours and one six remained the stars for India. They took the Men in Blue’s total to 239/6. However, following the duo’s departure, they succumbed to Naseem Shah’s impressive bowling and got bundled out for 266 with seven balls to spare.

Pakistan lead Group A of Asia Cup 2023 with 3 points

Talking of the bowling from Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, arguably the best new-ball bowler of recent times dropped yet another magnificent performance. He recorded figures of 4/35 in ten overs while his partner in crime Haris Rauf returned with 3/58. Towards the end of the Indian innings, Naseem Shah made a meal out of the lower-order batters scalping Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah to return with 3/36 in 8.5 overs.

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India will next face Nepal on Monday, September 4 at the same venue in Kandy, Sri Lanka. As of now, Pakistan lead the Group table with one win over Nepal in the first game and one game that failed to produce results. This marks the end of the group stages for Pakistan, they will now be in action in the Super four stages. India, on the other hand, need to win against Nepal to confirm their route into the Super Four.

Here's how fans reacted:  

India Pakistan featured Asia Cup 2023 Twitter Reactions