Asia Cup: After Virat Kohli, KL Rahul's sparkling show, Kuldeep Yadav sinks Pakistani ship
After sparkling centuries by Virat Kohli and comeback man KL Rahul, leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav's fifer sealed a massive 228 runs victory against Pakistan in Asia Cup's third Super 4 match at R Premadasa Stadium here on Monday.
This was a perfect start for India in the Sper 4 stage as they royally hammered their arch rivals lock, stock and barrel. Their openers scored quick fifties, and then the No.3 and 4 fired up cracking centuries.
They made mince-meat of the much famed Pakistan pacers as Rahul made a perfect comeback from an injury and Virat notching up his 47th ODI hundred and reaching 13,000 ODI runs.
In the second innings, Indian seamers Jasprit Bumrah (1/18) and Mohammad Siraj were on the dot, troubling the edgy Pakistani openers with swing and snorters. But the ball of the match was Hardik Pandya's in-cutter that zipped into Babar Azam's timbers after the Pakistan captain had made 10.
Then medium pacer Shardul Thakur ((1/16) dismissed Mohammad Rizwan with a beauty for 2. Next Kuldeep took charge, producing a lot of turn from a pitch that seemed to help the seamers, and ended up with figures of 5/25.
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah did not come out to bat, as their innings folded for a paltry 128 in 32 overs, after a painful wait of 32 hours since the first ball was bowled on Sunday.
For all the hype around the clash and the special inclusion of the reserve day, the game proved to be a one-sided affair.
Virat was voted player of the match.
After a long delay and a reserve day, the Pakistanis could have been cursing the rain gods and then their fate as they lost Haris Rauf due to an injury during the day.
Taking advantage of it, Rahul and Virat took calculated risks in the beginning, but attacked the part-timers later with ferocity.
It was a magnificent comeback for Rahul who flaunted his class picking up the balls early while executing unblemished flicks and drives to notch up his 6th ODI ton.
Virat slammed 122 from 94 balls in an innings studded with 9 boundaries and 3 sixes. Batting on 98, he became the fastest batsman to reach 13,000 ODI runs, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record.
Tendulkar had achieved the milestone in 321 innings, and Virat did in just 277 innings. This also was the 4th consecutive century for Virat at this venue.
Rahul remained unbeaten on 111 from 106 balls with 12 boundaries and 2 sixes.
India had a great start on Sunday after Babar sent them to bat in the rain-affected match. Rohit (56) and Shubman Gill (58) came out with a positive intention against the new ball.
Rohit was nervous against the pacers, but made up by taking on Shadab for a 19-run over. Both openers got fifties before they were dismissed in successive overs. Then came the rain, a long delay and then a reserve day.
IBNS
Senior Staff Reporter at Northeast Herald, covering news from Tripura and Northeast India.
Related Articles
‘England stronger opposition than West Indies’: Sourav Ganguly warns India ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final
Kolkata/IBNS: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has termed England a bigger threat than the West Indies ahead of India’s semi-final clash in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

‘Back home and safe’: PV Sindhu returns after being stranded in Dubai
Bengaluru/IBNS: Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has returned safely to India after being stranded in Dubai amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Samson stars as India knock out West Indies to reach T20 World Cup semi-finals
Kolkata/IBNS: Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 97 powered India to a thrilling five-wicket victory over West Indies in a virtual quarter-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens on Sunday, sealing their place in the semi-finals.

Heartbreak for Rinku Singh! Father passes away amid T20 World Cup; condolences pour in
Noida/IBNS: Indian cricketer Rinku Singh is mourning the loss of his father, Khanchand Singh, who passed away on Friday after a battle with advanced-stage liver cancer, media reports said.
Latest News

BJP to win ADC and Village Council election with huge margin: CM

Evil Dead actor Bruce Campbell says his cancer is ‘treatable, not curable’ in emotional post

Nick Jonas shares romantic Holi throwback with Priyanka Chopra

Iranian ship sinks close to Sri Lanka following 'submarine' attack: Reports

