Pakistan fight back as India’s innings slows in Asian Games final

India’s rapid start against Pakistan in the Asian Games T20 final on Saturday began to slow in the middle overs, with Pakistan taking wickets and tightening the scoring after the early assault.

India were 133 for five after 14.1 overs when captain Shreyas Iyer fell to a sharp catch at extra cover by his Pakistan counterpart Sahibzada Farhan off left-arm spinner Abrar Ahmed. Iyer had tried to make room and steer the ball over the fielder but could not get enough height, ending a slow innings of 21 off 24 balls. Tilak Varma was at the crease.

The innings had been built on a powerful opening burst. Abhishek Sharma struck sixes off Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Ahmed Daniyal and Abrar, and was past 40 inside the first five overs as India raced beyond a run rate of 12. Opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit two sixes in Masood’s expensive second over before falling to Ayub, and Sanju Samson was caught at mid-on off a short ball from Daniyal, Pakistan’s only frontline seamer.

Pakistan clawed their way back after the drinks break. Arafat Minhas bowled Ishan Kishan for 20 when the ball turned back sharply to hit the top of off stump, and the run rate dropped below ten for the first time since the second over. Sufyan Moqim and Masood kept things tight in the overs before that, and Pakistan also let a couple of chances go, with two fielders putting down skied catches off Abhishek and Iyer.

India had won the toss and chosen to bat, with no handshake between the captains as far as could be seen on television. Pakistan made one change, bringing in Masood for Mohammad Wasim Jnr, while India fielded the side that beat Sri Lanka in the semi-final.

India: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (capt), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Saad Masood, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Moqim.