India T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill and opener Abhishek Sharma took India to a flying start in the run chase of 172 against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Abhishek slammed Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six on the first ball of the innings, while Gill lined up Saim Ayub and Shaheen with his crunchy fours.
In an eye-catching moment during the third over of the innings, Gill smashed Shaheen for the second four of the over towards the covers and pointed out where he hit the ball, sending the Indian fans to the Aamer Sohail vs Venky Prasad incident in the 1996 ODI World Cup. But the change was that Shaheen could not get him soon, as Prasad had dismissed him on the next ball.
India were handed a target of 172 after Pakistan did well in patches in their Super Four clash. The Men in Blue were a bit sloppy on the field, having dropped four catches. However, the bowlers did well enough to not let Pakistan get a strong total as they were restricted to 171/5. Sahibzada Farhan had slammed 58 from 45 balls after getting two lifelines. For India, Shivam Dube starred with the ball, taking 2/33 in his four overs.
India had earlier won the toss and had opted to bowl first. "We'll bowl first. Looks a nice track and yesterday there was dew. Since first round we were thinking we're playing a knockout tournament, nothing changes. That was a completely different wicket (in Abu Dhabi). Quite normal, just another game. Bumrah and Varun come back for Arshdeep and Harshit," India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss.
"Would've bowled first as well. It's a new game, a new challenge. The mood is very normal. Pitch looks to be on the slower side. Want to start well with both bat and ball. Two changes. Hasan Nawaz and Khushdil Shah not playing," Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha said at the toss.
Pakistan's Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
India's Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun ChakaravarthyMore to follow...
