Dubai : Fiery exchanges, audacious strokes, dropped catches, and relentless drama — the India-Pakistan Super 4 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium had it all. The only familiar thing was the result: another dominant Indian win.Pakistan’s bowlers came hard after setting a victory target of 172, but a ruthless 105-run opening stand between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill paved the way for a comfortable six-wicket win.Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya saw India home in the 19th over. This was India’s fifth consecutive win over their arch-rivals, taking the overall scoreline to 12-3 in T20Is.The left-handed Abhishek Sharma set the tone early, pulling Shaheen Shah Afridi for six off the very first ball of the innings. Gill followed suit, cracking back-to-back fours off part-timer Saim Ayub in the second over.There was no looking back from there as the Punjab pair tore into the Pakistani attack, peppering all corners of the ground.A fired-up Haris Rauf tried to unsettle the batters in the fifth over, but a thick outside edge from Abhishek’s bat flew to the boundary. The very next over saw tempers flare as Gill short-arm jabbed Rauf through mid-wicket, prompting an exchange of words that had the umpires stepping in to cool things down.Gill, struggling with cramps, was eventually bowled for 47 (28b, 8×4) while trying to drive Faheem Ashraf on the up. Soon after, captain Suryakumar Yadav departed for a three-ball duck, topedging a flick off Rauf to Abrar Ahmed at third man — the third time the pacer has dismissed Surya in T20Is.Abhishek, however, continued in the same aggressive vein, bringing up the second-fastest fifty in India-Pakistan T20 history off just 24 balls. He eventually fell for a blistering 74 (34b, 6×4, 5×6), holing out to Rauf at long-on off Ahmed.Earlier, it was an unusually sloppy night for the defending champions, who spilled four catches, while Jasprit Bumrah endured his third-most expensive figures in T20Is — conceding 45 runs from his four overs and failing to pick up a wicket. Pakistan raced to 91 in the first 10 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan leading the charge and taking on Bumrah, who conceded 34 in his first three overs.
Farhan shared a 72-run stand with Saim Ayub for the second wicket, but the innings lost momentum once Shivam Dube came into the attack. Along with Varun Chakravarthy, the medium-pacer applied the brakes after the halfway mark, as Pakistan went more than six overs without finding the boundary.India’s fielding woes only compounded their problems. Abhishek put down Farhan off the third ball of the match at third man, denying Hardik yet another first-over breakthrough. He dropped the opener again on 32 at long-on off Chakravarthy, this time tipping the ball over the ropes for six.Kuldeep Yadav also grassed a sitter offered by Ayub, while Gill put down Ashraf at midwicket in the penultimate over.Bumrah, who had been rested for the game against Oman in Abu Dhabi, looked off-colour on the night. He was taken for six boundaries and a six in his first three overs as Pakistan raced to 55 in the Powerplay.Farhan, living a charmed life, celebrated reaching his fifty with a gun salute after pulling Axar Patel for six over mid-wicket but eventually fell to Dube for 58 (5×4; 1×6) while attempting to accelerate. Dube finished with figures of 2 for 33, though he conceded 17 in his final over.
