India secured a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their Super Four Asia Cup clash in Dubai, despite some fielding errors, with Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav humorously revealing that the fielding coach T Dilip has emailed players with “butter fingers” to report to his office. A century partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill helped India successfully chase down Pakistan’s total of 171/5.The match saw several dropped catches by Indian fielders including Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Abhishek Sharma, which allowed Pakistan to post a competitive score.“The fielding coach has sent an email to the boys, who had buttered fingers, to appear before him at his office. But this happens, it is a part of the game. I am okay with it because it happened in the first game itself, and we have more crucial games to go,” Suryakumar said during the post-match press conference.Suryakumar noted that the batting conditions were favorable and emphasized the importance of smart cricket between overs 7 and 15.“The team which will play good cricket from over 7 to 15 will have an upper hand. You have to be smarter with your plans in the finish. In powerplay, the ball is hard and you can time it well, but after that, you have to bat smartly. That is what we did today,” he explained.The Indian captain highlighted Shivam Dube’s bowling performance as a crucial turning point in the match, praising his spell of 2/33 in four overs.“The drinks during the first innings was a turning point. When bowlers changed their line and lengths, showed more energy, spinners bowled well. Shivam Dube’s spell was a turning point in the game. He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him. He always wanted to bowl two overs minimum, but he got four today, and he was very happy. He was very clear with his plans. This makes my job easier,” Suryakumar stated.
After winning the toss, India elected to field first. Pakistan’s innings featured a strong 72-run partnership between Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 58 off 45 balls, and Saim Ayub, who made 21 from 17 balls.Late contributions from Mohammed Nawaz (21 off 19) and Faheem Ashraf (20 not out off 8) helped Pakistan reach 171/5 in their allocated 20 overs.India’s bowling attack saw Shivam Dube claim two wickets for 33 runs, while Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya took one wicket each.In the chase, Abhishek Sharma played a match-winning knock of 74 from 39 balls, including six fours and five sixes, while Shubman Gill contributed 47 off 28 balls with eight boundaries.Despite Haris Rauf’s effort of taking two wickets for 26 runs, Tilak Varma (30 not out) and Hardik Pandya (7 not out) guided India to victory with seven balls remaining.Abhishek Sharma was named Player of the Match for his explosive batting performance that helped India overcome their earlier fielding lapses.
