Former Pakistani captain Salman Butt has praised the resurgence of the Indian squad in their match against Pakistan. Butt acknowledged that the early dismissals of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had paved the way for India’s youthful guns to shine in the match. The much-anticipated match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 was postponed due to rain on September 2, and both teams were awarded one point for their efforts.
Shaheen Afridi led Pakistan’s fearsome bowling attack, which wreaked havoc on India’s top order. Shaheen Afridi sent back Rohit Sharma with a peach of a delivery, and Virat Kohli quickly followed suit, falling victim to Shaheen’s brilliance. Shaheen Afridi was in charge of Pakistan’s bowling attack. India was in a critical situation due to the impending departures of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer.
However, despite the challenges they were facing, the explosive combo of Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion and launched a furious counter-attack with a flurry of boundaries. They were successful. The combination gave India’s innings new energy and ultimately helped propel them to a respectable total of 266 runs.
“As I was saying earlier, with the exception of two or three players, there is a dearth of experience when it comes to playing under such high levels of pressure (in the Indian team). The fact that India’s two most important players (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) were removed from the match at an early stage and that India’s younger players were able to stage a comeback was the finest thing that could have happened to India today. They brought them up to a decent amount,” Butt stated on his official account on YouTube.
Pakistan, under the leadership of captain Babar Azam, was able to secure a spot in the competition’s Super 4 stage despite the fact that there was no outcome. Pakistan had earlier defeated Nepal by a lopsided margin of 238 runs in their initial meeting, which made this possible.
The way forward for India is eminently apparent but not without obstacles. They now have a match against Nepal, which is their last match in Group A, and it is imperative that they win. In the other group, Bangladesh is fighting to survive in the competition since a loss to Afghanistan in their last group encounter will result in Bangladesh being eliminated from the competition.
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