CHENNAI: Abhishek Sharma (61 off 28 balls) and Tilak Varma (51 n.o. from 22 balls) rose to the occasion to help India defend their Asian Games gold against Pakistan on Saturday.
Chasing an improbable target of 212 runs, Hasan Nawaz played a memorable knock of 96 runs to keep Pakistan in hunt but ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled a spectacular penultimate over to help India win by 19 runs.
Opting to bat first, India got off to a flying start in the summit clash. Both Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma did not take long to get going as they went for big hits from the very first over. So much so that 28 runs came off the first two overs, but Vaibhav got out in the third over trying to take on Saim Ayub for a nine-ball 15.
Abhishek made it a point to keep going, taking two fours and a six in the same over. He then went on to hit sixes off Ahmed Daniyal and Arafat Minhas on his way to a 20-ball half-century. The one disappointing aspect about the powerplay was Sanju Samson failing to deliver once again. The opener, who has been moved to No. 3 to accommodate Vaibhav, has been struggling to put up consistent scores and on Saturday, too, he fell early.
Meanwhile, the left-hander used the breeze and the dimensions of the ground to the fullest. And it helped that Pakistan were sloppy on the field, dropping catches for both him and Shreyas Iyer. Thanks to the left-hander's onslaught, India finished the powerplay with 81/2. Once Abhishek got out for 61 from 28 balls against the run of play, Ishan Kishan joined Shreyas in the middle.
From there on, Pakistan slowly clawed their way back into the contest with some tight overs. India went from 81/2 in six overs to 114/3 in ten, and the pressure paid off. Kishan and Shreyas fell in quick succession, adding pressure on Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube. However, India were in a relatively comfortable position on a pitch that was not easy to bat on thanks to the early onslaught of Abhishek.
Tilak and Dube took the innings deep before going big in the last three overs. Tilak hit two sixes and a four off Sufyan Moqim in the 18th over before Dube joined the party. The duo collected 23 runs off the penultimate over, taking India closer to the 200-run mark. Though Dube got out for 27 from 15 balls, Tilak's 21-ball fifty helped India finish strong in the final over.
Brief scores: India 211/6 in 20 ovs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51 n.o; Ahmed Daniyal 2/43, Arafat Minhas 2/25) bt Pakistan 192/6 in 20 ovs (Hasan Nawaz 96; Axar Patel 2/29, Washington Sundar 2/29, Shivam Dube 2/33).
