Mohammad Amir’s sensational early burst proved in vain as India maintained their 100 per cent record in the Asia Cup with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in Mirpur.
After Pakistan were all out for 83, with only two of their batsmen reaching double figures, India openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane were both trapped in front without scoring in Amir’s first over and the 23-year-old also accounted for Suresh Raina.
However, the left-arm paceman could not make any further inroads, finishing with 3-18, his best haul in Twenty20 internationals.
Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh were then able to rebuild after coming together with India on eight for three; Kohli was the aggressor in a 68-run partnership and although he fell for an impressive 49 off 51 balls, lbw to Mohammad Sami, who also snared Hardik Pandya in the same over, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni got them over the line with 27 balls to spare.
Pakistan’s hopes of setting a competitive total, after being invited to bat first, were undermined by the fall of wickets at regular intervals and only Sarfraz Ahmed, with 25 from 24 balls, appeared at ease at the crease.
Pandya took the final two wickets to finish with eye-catching figures of 3-8, while slow left-armer Ravindra Jadeja claimed 2-11.
.@imVkohli delights the fans after his match-winning knock #IndvPak #AsiaCuphttps://t.co/Ar2LLraaBK
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 27, 2016
Source: ECB