Varun strikes
He is clearly India's go-to bowler.
Pakistan were getting a head of steam, scoring 32 runs between overs 7, 8 and 9.
Kuldeep Yadav, the other X-factor bowler, bowled two of those overs and was taken for 23.
Farhan was looking real dangerous, putting behind a laboured start.
So SKY breaks the glass. He sees the emergency.
Varun comes on and takes Farhan down
1
1
1
•
2
6
1
2
•
4
1
•
1w
1
6
1lb
2
1
1
•
1
6
W
1
2
2
2
1
1
Farhan fifty
To Farhan's credit, he hasn't let the mis-hits cloud his approach. He's been conscious of giving himself room, shifting his balance leg side and from there, a ball even slightly short becomes hittable.
From 26 off 21, he's gone to 50 off 35 and this time he's opted for a simple raise of the bat. Farhan was fined for using his bat to mimic a gun earlier in the tournament upon reaching this same landmark.
6
2
2
1
Powerplay blip
ESPNcricinfo logs batter's intent - the number of shots they play looking to get boundaries. It's a subjective exercise though. But it helps, like here, to determine that though Pakistan have tried very hard to hit out, it hasn't really worked.
Farhan attempted 14 aggressive shots and scored only 26 runs with them in the first six overs. Zaman went for only four aggressive shots and scored eight runs. That rounds Pakistan up to 45 for 0 in the powerplay.
Both openers recognise that they need to go harder and target Kuldeep Yadav. His first over - and also the first after the field restrictions have been relaxed - goes for double-digits
1
1
1
•
2
6
3
7
1
6
The Varun challenge
•
1
•
2
1
1
India's mystery spinner bowls the first over without a boundary in the powerplay. Once more, Fakhar and Farhan were unable to pick him out of the hand, instead relying on cross-bat shots.
Also, India have held onto two Bumrah overs for the back-end. A change prompted by Hardik's injury and the stakes in this game.
9 percent - Varun Chakravarthy has been hit for 11 boundaries (7 fours and 4 sixes)in 114 deliveries in the Asia Cup. In other words, just 9% of his balls across the whole tournament have been punishable/punished.
3
6
3
2
Pakistan's intent
Pakistan have shown a lot of aggression in the first three overs. Some times they've played a missed, but they are wedded to the idea of scoring as many runs as possible in the powerplay.
That's led to Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman taking a fair few risks - coming down the track, giving up the stumps and swinging so hard there is a sound even when bat completely misses the ball.
When it hits though, it's total THWACK. So much so that Farhan has earned himself a bit of cricket history
1 Farhan is the only batter in the world to hit Jasprit Bumrah for three or more sixes in T20I cricket
1
2
6
The Dube promotion
India have so far used Jasprit Bumrah as a powerplay weapon - three overs up front in every game he's played at the Asia Cup. But with Hardik Pandya's injury limiting the bowling resources they have, particularly at the back-end of the innings, will they be tempted to revisit frontloading their only available seam bowler?
Shivam Dube bowling in the powerplay, with only two fielders out, and in the death, sounds risky. That said, he's picked up five wickets in four innings in this tournament, including a game-changing display (2-33) against Pakistan themselves during the Super Four stage.
0 times that Shivam Dube has opened the bowling in any format of cricket. He breaks that duck today in the Asia Cup final
3
2
2
Toss: India bowl
India will nurse a significant loss with Hardik Pandya missing the Asia Cup final with a quad niggle. The team management didn't seem to mind the bowling they will miss out on as they replaced his all-round skills with one of their finishers - Rinku Singh. They'll need to walk that talk early doors after choosing to bowl. Suryakumar Yadav explained the decision by saying the pitch, which has only been used two times in the last three weeks, gets better under lights.
Pakistan's Salman Agha didn't mind batting first, saying that's what they've done all tournament. He admitted that his side - which is unchanged - hasn't put on the perfect game yet but was excited to do so in the final when everything is on the line. The two teams have already met twice in the competition, with India winning both games comfortably. But without their key allrounder, who balances the XI, they go into this one slightly handicapped. Shivam Dube, one of only five recognised bowling options, might be called on to take the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.
The formalities at the toss required two people this time - Ravi Shastri and Waqar Younis. Shastri interviewed Suryakumar and shook hands. Waqar interviewed Agha and shook hands. The Indian team so far has refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in this Asia Cup after increased political tensions between the two countries.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
4
3
India in Asia Cup finals
The 1984 tournament - the first one - did not have a final.
2
12
6
1
Pakistan in Asia Cup finals
2
6
2
1
Hardik missing
India are well into their warm-ups and one player seems to be very conspicuous in his absence. Hardik Pandya has spent most of his time at the ground today on the sidelines, just watching his team-mates go about their pre-match routines. He has 48 runs and four wickets from four innings, which doesn't sound like much, but his all-round ability does lend this time the kind of balance that is very hard to replicate. A blow for India if he has to miss out.
Meanwhile, we are hearing that both the toss and the presentation might be conducted by two people, presumably so one can interview the Indian team members and the other can do the Pakistanis.
2
6
4
13
Welcome!
So, it's India and Pakistan again, this time for the title and that seems to have sharpened the focus on the cricket. That wasn't the case during their two earlier meetings at this Asia Cup, where political tensions spilled over onto the field of play. It is once again almost certain that the teams won't be shaking hands with each other, indicative of the state of affairs between two countries who were in military conflict earlier this year. (What does that mean if India win, because the trophy is likely to be handed out by Mohsin Naqvi, who is the Asian Cricket Council and the PCB chief)
All that said, a little bit of the old buzz seems to be back. The organisers are expecting a sellout crowd in Dubai, and have even asked for extra hospitality staff to cater to the increased demand. Shashank Kishore, our man on site, reported: "nowhere to be seen until now, hawkers are back with bargain merchandise, and there was commotion around the box office over tickets that appear “sold out” online, but are available for physical purchase."
There's a little something in the air again, and this time, we don't need to hate/troll/be afraid of it.
4
3
3
3