Ahead of the marquee clash against India, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said that the men in blue would be under pressure when they take the field at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The facts that India have no Virat Kohli in their squad and also that the UAE is currently Pakistan’s home ground made the former Asia Cup champions confident about the game.

However, as it turned out, Sarfraz and his men were outplayed by Rohit Sharma’s side and the match got over with 126 balls to spare! Pakistan was bundled out for just 162 despite 82-run partnership between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik for the third wicket and it did not take India much time to reach the target with 8 wickets in hand. Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was chosen the Man of the Match for picking up three wickets as India’s bowling unit excelled in the contest.

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After the loss, former Pakistani great Wasim Akram lashed out at the team saying it had a negative approach in the game. He had earlier said that the absence of Kohli would boost the Pakistani bowler’s psychology and after the game, he conceded that 162 was always going to be difficult for even their pacers on a flat surface. Indian skipper Rohit scored 52 off 39 balls to set the team on the winning path.

Akram was particularly upset with the way Pakistan played Indian wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav. The duo picked four wickets against 60 runs in 17 overs, putting the Men in Green in a spot from which they could never recover. Shortly before the start of the match, the legendary pacer cautioned Pakistan to play ‘Chinaman’ Yadav watchfully. Yadav played a crucial role in breaking the long partnership of 82 runs between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik by castling the former for 47. Pakistan could never recover from there.

During a show on Aaj Tak, Wasim said, “It was difficult to defend 163 on such a flat pitch. This was supposed to be Pakistan’s home ground. It was all set for them: win the toss, bat and put up the runs. I have been saying this for the last three weeks: Kuldeep Yadav will be the main threat. They did not even see what Kedar Jadhav was trying to bowl. Sometimes, you have to respect a good bowler and see off his spell. But they had no plans and they were flabbergasted.”