Pakistan’s young fast bowler Naseem Shah made Indian batters dance to his tunes as he exhibited a brilliant display of swing bowling in the high-octane Asia Cup 2023 clash between the arch-rivals on Saturday at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Pakistani pace bowlers booked India on 266 in the first innings after Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya’s half-centuries before persistent rain denied the second innings’ play, hence, washing out the match between India and Pakistan.
Shaheen Afridi led the bowling charts in the first innings of PAK vs IND with figures of 4-35, while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf shared three wickets each.
Naseem Shah talked to the media after the match and shared his experience of playing his first ODI game against India. Naseem Shah has previously faced India in three T20i games during last year’s Asia Cup which was played in T20i format and T20I World Cup.
“It was a new experience playing an ODI against India, thank God I bowled well,” Naseem Shah said. “ODI is a different format and it requires patience,”
He also shed light on his bowling plan against the Indian batting line-up.
“The bowling was swinging at the start, so I was trying to bowl at the right areas,” he added. “The plan was to not let the Indian batters score runs freely, so they would give wickets,”
Naseem also appreciated his fellow pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, who bowled brilliantly to bowl India out yesterday.
“Shaheen Afridi bowled well in the beginning, while Haris Roof came in the middle and bowled very well,” said Naseem Shah.
While talking about the upcoming Asia Cup Super-Four stage match against either Bangladesh or Afghanistan on September 6 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Naseem Shah expressed his wish to enjoy and perform well at Lahore.
“As a child, I have played a lot of cricket in Lahore as a kid and I will try to enjoy, and perform well to win the match there,” he concluded.
Pakistan secured their spot in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four stage as they finished their group-stage campaign with three points in two matches after a dominant victory over Nepal and a washed-out game against arch-rivals India yesterday.
Meanwhile, India next face Nepal on September 4 in a bid to join Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s.
READ: Pakistan team to reach Lahore today for Asia Cup Super Four match