Bhuvneshwar Kumar became first Indian bowler to pick 4 wickets in a T20I against Pakistan© AFP
The Indian pacers called the shots in the Asia Cup 2022 clash against Pakistan as they scalped all the wickets in the high-voltage match on Sunday. It was the first time that Indian seamers took all ten wickets in a T20I innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya starred as they returned with figures of 4/26 and 3/25 in their respective four overs. Almost all the Indian pacers employed short ball tactics as it unnerved the Pakistan batters. Barring Mohammad Rizwan, all top Pakistan batters struggled as they were all out for 147.
Bhuvneshwar’s four-wicket haul also saw him script a new record by an Indian bowler as it was the best-ever figures for the team against Pakistan. He surpassed Pandya’s 3/8 at Mirpur in 2018.
Bhuvneshwar was at his skillful best as his four-wicket haul included the prized scalp of Babar Azam (10) too. He surprised the Pakistan skipper with a bouncer in his second over as Babar went for the pull, only to top edge to Arshdeep at short fine leg.
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After Hardik took the crucial wickets of Rizwan (43), Khushdil Shah (2) and Iftikhar Ahmed (28), Bhuvneshwar cleaned up the lower order as he dismissed Shadab Khan (10), Asif Ali (9) and Naseem Shah (0).
Bhuvneshwar Kumar later spoke about his terrific performance: “Before bowling the first ball, I thought it was going to swing. There was no swing but there was a bit of bounce. We knew we had to bowl wicket to wicket, so bowling short was the plan. The pitch was a bit skiddy, and lets be honest 147 means we gave a bit too many runs in the end. I think if we can bat well in the first six overs, because the pitch is a bit streaky. There is no swing but there is a bit of bounce, so we need to combat that nicely.”
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