Tag : Pallekele

Pallekele: Hardik Pandya made 87 while Ishan Kishan slammed 82 in a vital 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket in a remarkable recovery act to help India overcome a top-order collapse and make 266 in 48.5 overs against Pakistan in their first match of Asia Cup at Pallekele on Saturday. But as soon as the mid-innings break began, persistent rain, which had caused interruptions twice during India’s innings, came back with greater force, forcing the ground to be fully covered.  With an inspection at 9 pm local time and cut-off time at 10:27 pm, the inevitable happened when handshakes happened all around, implying that the match was called off as rain had the final say. As a result, Pakistan, the top-ranked ODI side, has qualified for the Super Four stage of the competition, making the India-Nepal match at the same venue on Monday a must-win for Rohit Sharma & Co to enter the next phase of the competition. Under challenging conditions, India were reduced to 66/4, before Kishan and Pandya stepped up in a pressure situation to stitch an important partnership, with strike rotation keeping the scoreboard moving. Kishan mixed sensibility with aggression as he made the most out of exhibiting counter-attacking batting from an unfamiliar position. Pandya was calmness personified in a high-pressure game and upped the ante after Kishan fell to dig India out of a hole. For Pakistan, Shaheen (4-35), Naseem (3-36) and Haris Rauf (3-58) took all ten Indian wickets. Their spinners and fielders weren’t up to the mark in an action-packed India innings. Just when it felt the game would drift away from Pakistan’s hand, the pacers triggered another collapse as India went from 239-5 to 266 all out, before the rain arrived to play spoilsport. Electin ...