IND VS PAK SUPER FOUR MATCH 2

Right then, two games down in the Super Four and Bangladesh and India have the early advantage as Asia's best continue to tussle for a spot in the Final. Next up, Sri Lanka face Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, 23 September. Two teams who simply have to win if they are to keep their hopes alive of making it to the Final and it should be a fascinating encounter. That game will begin at 8 pm IST (2.30 pm GMT), but you can join us sooner for the build-up as well. Cheers!

The victorious captain of India, Suryakumar Yadav, says that the way the boys are stepping up and showing character in every game has made his job as a skipper very easy. Shares that the way Pakistan showed composure in the first ten overs, it was all about staying calm, and also shares that during the drinks break, he said that the real game starts from that point. On Shivam Dube being the game changer with the ball, he says Dube is not a robot, and that he will have a bad day someday, but also tells that the way he bailed them out in that situation was really good. SKY further adds that Shubman and Abhishek are a fire and ice combination up top as they complement each other pretty well. Says it is fun to watch them bat together. Reflects that the chase required somebody to bat till 10-12 overs. On their fielding lapses, he cheekily says that the fielding coach, T Dilip, has emailed all the ones who dropped the catches and ends by saying that they will improve in the next game.

The captain of Pakistan, Salman Agha, says that they are yet to play a perfect game and reckons that they could have got a few more runs but did well with the bat. However, the way India batted in the Powerplay took the game away from them. Adds that the batting order changes are about having the right batters at the right time and plan according to the game. Mentions that there are a lot of positives from this game and they are looking forward to facing Sri Lanka, which will be a different challenge.

India's Abhishek Sharma is adjudged as the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his match-winning knock of 74 off just 39 balls. He says it was pretty simple and mentions the way the bowlers were coming at them, he didn't like that at all. Adds that this is the only way he could have given the medicine back to them. Says he has been playing with Shubman Gill since his school days and was waiting for a partnership with him for a long while. On his role as an opener, he stresses that it is important for the team that he plays an aggressive brand of cricket and also says that the team has been supporting him to play the way he is, knowing it is a high-risk approach.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and put Pakistan into bat. There was a change at the top of the order for Pakistan as Fakhar Zaman walked out to open instead of Saim Ayub and this worked wonders. Both Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan attacked the Indian bowlers and it was a rare game where we saw Jasprit Bumrah being taken to the cleaners. Zaman's dismissal was the talking point of the Powerplay but Farhan's knock made it seem like that dismissal didn't matter. India did roar back in the 2nd half of the innings and it was Shivam Dube who was the architect as he picked up 2 crucial wickets. Pakistan did manage to end on a high, thanks to valuable contributions from the middle order and they put on a defendable total of 171 on the board.

With just under 50 runs required for the win, Abhishek Sharma too got out and this allowed Pakistan to just slow down the scoring rate a bit. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma stitched together a 25-run stand but Samson got out having played a sluggish knock as Haris Rauf came back strongly after being put away in his first over and picked up 2 wickets for not many runs. Varma decided to take matters into his own hands after Sanju fell and played a handy, unbeaten cameo of 30 off 19 deliveries and went on to hit the winning boundary as well.

Pakistan were patchy with the ball to begin with and their premier bowlers seemed to be making no impact. It was the fifth bowler, Faheem Ashraf, who got the first breakthrough and they were able to get another wicket in quick succession. However, Abhishek managed to break the shackles and got India once again into a commanding position and Pakistan were running out of time.

Chasing 172 for victory, India wasted no time in the Powerplay as Abhishek Sharma got the ball rolling with a six off the very first ball. The openers scored 69 runs in the Powerplay and even surpassed the 100-run mark in about 9 overs but Shubman Gill got out right after the drinks break, 3 runs short of his fifty, handing Pakistan a narrow opening.

India's unblemished run in the 2025 Asia Cup continues as they defeat arch-rivals Pakistan for a second time in this year's tournament and start the Super Four stage in style. Pakistan will feel they should have done more with the ball, as they certainly had a defendable score on board. This is also India's highest chase against Pakistan in a T20I game.

FOUR! A low full toss from Afridi, on the pads, Tilak Varma accepts it gleefully and just whips it behind square on the leg side, and finds the fence. INDIA WIN BY 6 WICKETS AND 7 BALLS TO SPARE!

SIX! CLEAN AS A WHISTLE! Ordinary bowling, this, especially with mid off up in the ring! Into the slot, a juicy half volley, around off. Tilak Varma clears the front leg and smokes it downtown for a 92-meter biggie! Just 2 needed now for India!

Slips in a low full toss, outside off. Hardik Pandya throws his bat at it, and slices it to the deep backward point region. The man from deep third cuts it off to his left. One taken. 8 needed off 9!

Two dots to start the penultimate! Pace on at 141.8 kph, full and outside off. Hardik Pandya tries to work that through cover, but the ball zips past his outside edge.

A slower yorker, on middle. Hardik Pandya does well to jam his bat down and squeezes it out to the cover regoin.

Slowish delivery, at 114.6 kph, full and outside off. Hardik is early in his shot, looking to heave across, but mistimes off the inner half and the ball rolls down to long on for a single. INDIA NEED 9 OFF 12 BALLS!

Proactive running! Fuller and on off, angling in. Tilak Varma shimmies down the track and drills it wide of mid off for a quick single.