DHAKA: Pakistan beat India in crucial match of Asia Cup 2014. Two sixes of Shahid Afridi helped Pakistan beat arch rival India by one wicket in the Asia Cup match here at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Bangladesh.
Shahid Afridi is drowned beneath the entire Pakistan squad. Neither of those hits were off the middle of the bat, neither of those were particularly good balls either. And Pakistan have sealed a thrilling win. India fought hard despite posting a sub-par total especially with a returning Amit Mishra, who was exceptional with his flight and guide. But there were a couple of batsmen they could not stop. Mohammad Hafeez was very cool during his half-century partnership with Sohaib Maqsood, who also gutsed it out despite poor form. They kept Pakistan in sight of the required rate and Afridi’s final flourish was just about enough. Another see-saw encounter between these two storied rivals.
Chasing 246 runs, Pakistan achieved the target in the last over’s 4th ball. Afridi made 34 on just 18. Mohammad Hafeez made 75.
Pakistan did extremely well to blunt India’s batting line-up but then almost made a hash of the chase against the spinners. But Hafeez and Maqsood were just what the doctor ordered and even as wickets tumbled in the end, Shahid Afridi has scripted another nail-biting chapter into his legend. That is all we have for you on commentary, but do stick around for the post-match pieces that would be flying in soon. This is Alagappan Muthu, signing off
Mohammad Hafeez is the Man of the Match The way Pakistan won it pleased him. The management says they wanted him to be No.3 and he’s happy to be performing. Whenever there is a left-hander, he is happy to bowl. The captain asks him and he is happy to deliver. he had a chat with Maqsood about playing normally because the run-rate was not too daunting. And then Shahid Afridi finished it in the end. Want to dedicate the victory to the Pakistan people
Misbah-ul-Haq says it was a really important win and he’s very happy because Pakistan played really well under pressure. He knows they have a label of being bad chaserst but Hafeez and Maqsood did well and Afridi finished it for us perfectly. We knew there was a dew and we just wanted to keep ourselves in the game. I’d be happy to keep getting out if Pakistan win. We are not looking ahead to the final yet, just taking one game at a time
Earlier today, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first against traditional arch-rivals India.
With the help of three half centuries, Sharma 56, Rayudu 58 and Jadeja 52, India finished at 245 for 8 in 50 overs.
From Pakistan side, Saeed Ajmal took three wickets while Mohammad Hafeez and new comer Mohammad Talha got two wickets each.
Pakistan made one change in the team: Talha replaced all-rounder Anwar Ali.
India replaced Stuart Binny with leg spinner Amit Mishra.”
India and Pakistan have won one match each, and have each lost a close game against Sri Lanka.
On Saturday, fast-emerging Afghanistan claimed their first victory, beating Bangladesh by 32 runs in the tournament.
India team
S Dhawan, RG Sharma, V Kohli*, AT Rayudu, AM Rahane, KD Karthik†, RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Mishra, B Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
Pakistan team
Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Umar Akmal†, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Talha, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan.
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