Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan hit punishing centuries to steer an imperious India to a nine wicket win over a listless Pakistan in the Asia Cup match in Dubai on Sunday. Sharma notched 119-ball 111 not out for his 19th one-day hundred while Dhawan made a 100-ball 114 for his eighth century as the pair put on 210 for the opening stand - second best in all India-Pakistan one-day internationals.
That super effort from the openers saw India overhaul the target with 10.3 overs to spare. The Super four win is the second for India over arch-rivals following their easy eighth wicket win in the first round. The win is India's highest against Pakistan in terms of wickets, improving on the eight wicket win over Pakistan in Melbourne in 1985.
Pakistan were steered to 237-7 by Shoaib Malik who made 90-ball 78 after winning the toss and batting but it proved too little for the strong Indian batting line. Pakistan could have got Sharma out in the sixth over but Imam-ul-Haq dropped an easy catch off a luckless Shaheen Shah, giving the colourful Indian power to smash seven boundaries and four sixes.
Sharma, who scored back to back fifties in the last two games, also became the ninth Indian batsmen to complete 7,000 one-day runs in his 187th match when he reached 94, soon after he was dropped on 81 by Fakhar Zaman off Shadab Khan. Dhawan matches his skipper shot for shot, firing 100-ball 114 with 16 boundaries and two sixes as Pakistani bowlers had no clue to the rasping and flowing strokes of the Indian openers.
Pakistan's pace spearhead Mohammad Amir, brought back in one of two changes after dropped for the Afghanistan match, went wicketless for a fifth match in a row, leaving the much vaunted Pakistan bowling biteless. Even when Dhawan got out in the 34th over with 38 needed it was through a run out.
The best opening stand in Indo-Pak one-day internationals was 224 Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed at Dhaka in 2012. Earlier, Malik scored a 90-ball 78 with four boundaries and two sixes, but India kept a tight check on Pakistan's progress. Pakistan lost Imam (ten), Zaman (31) and Babar Azam (run out for nine) in an unimpressive start to their innings before Malik and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed added 107 for the fourth wicket.
Sarfraz scored a slow 66-ball 44 with only two boundaries before he became one of two Kuldeep Yadav's wicket who finished with 2-41. Pakistan's final over score depended on Malik who crucially fell in the 44th over, caught behind off a leg-side edge off Jasprit Bumrah. Asif Ali smashed two sixes in his 21-ball 30 before he was bowled by leg-spinner Yuzvndra Chahal who took 2-38 in his nine overs. Bumran finished with 2-29 in his ten overs.
SCOREBOARD
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Imam-ul-Haq lbw b Chahal 10
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F. Zaman lbw b Yadav 31
Babar Azam run out 9
S. Ahmed c Sharma b Yadav 44
S. Malik c Dhoni b Bumrah 78
Asif Ali b Chahal 30
Shadab Khan b Bumrah 10
M. Nawaz not out 15
Hasan Ali not out 2
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Extras: (lb5, w3) 8
Total: (for 7 wkts; 50 overs) 237
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Did not bat: Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Imam), 2-55 (Zaman), 3-58 (Azam), 4-165 (Sarfraz), 5-203 (Malik), 6-211 (Asif), 7-234 (Shadab)
Bowling: Kumar 9-0-46-0 (2w), Bumrah 10-1-29-2, Chahal 9-0-46-2, Yadav 10-0-41-2 (1w), Jadeja 9-0-50-0, Jadhav 3-0-20-0
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India:
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R. Sharma not out 111
S. Dhawan run out 114
A. Rayudu not out 12
Extras: (w1) 1
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Total: (for one wkt; 39.3 overs 238
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Fall of wickets: 1-210 (Dhwan)
Did not bat: D. Karthik, K. Jadhav, MS Dhoni, R. Jadeja, K. Yadav, Y. Chahal, B. Kumar, J. Bumrah Bowling: Amir 5-0-41-0, Shah 6-0-42-0, Hasan 9-0-52-0, Nawaz 7-0-35-0, Shadab 8-0-54-0, Malik 4.3-0-14-0
Result: India win by nine wickets
Toss: Pakistam
Umpires: Rod Tucker (AUS) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
Tv umpire: Gregory Brathwaite (WIS)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS).
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