In the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours match, India clinched a record-breaking victory against Pakistan with a margin of 228 runs at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. The Indian team showcased dominance with top four batsmen, including Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, delivering half-centuries and KL Rahul and Virat Kohli scoring impressive centuries, setting a score of 356/2.
Pakistan, on the other hand, struggled against the Indian bowling attack. Kuldeep Yadav shone with his 5 wickets for just 25 runs, restricting Pakistan to 128/8. Notably, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf didn’t bat due to injuries. Jasprit Bumrah, returning to ODIs, and Mohammed Siraj opened the bowling, with Bumrah taking out Imam-ul-Haq. Hardik Pandya also made an impact, taking down Babar Azam. Despite rain interruptions, play continued with Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav further weakening Pakistan’s stance.
Kohli’s century was monumental as he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record against Pakistan and became the quickest to achieve 13,000 ODI runs. Rahul, filling in for injured Shreyas Iyer, displayed his skills both as a batsman and as a wicketkeeper.
With this notable win, India leads the points table. However, Pakistan, after their significant loss, needs to defeat Sri Lanka to reach the finals. India is set to face Sri Lanka on September 12th in Colombo.
