Asia Cup | After Babar's dismissal, we did not think half of Pakistan team had been dismissed: Bhuvneshwar
India Today
Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed his line and length well to dismiss Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who was struggling to play India's new-ball pair, the other being Arshdeep Singh.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said that Pakistan's plans were disturbed after the dismissal of Babar Azam, but added that his departure didn't mean half of the opposition was out in the Asia Cup.
India created dot ball pressure and bagged Pakistan's wickets at regular intervals. Bhuvneshwar managed his line and length well and dismissed Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who was struggling to play India's new-ball pair, with the other being Arshdeep Singh. On a short ball, Babar (10) tried to pull but ended up giving a catch at short fine leg in the third over.
The short ball tactic kept on helping India as Hardik Pandya rattled the middle order to dent Pakistan's batting before Arshdeep Singh cleaned up the tail. Indian pacers bagged all 10 wickets to bundle out Pakistan for 147 before Hardik Pandya inspired India to a five-wicket win on Sunday, August 28.
"Once Babar was dismissed, we did not think that half of the Pakistan team has been dismissed. He is a good player but technically there were 9 other batters still left. As a team, we do not think that if the best batter is out, then half of the team is dismissed. But yes, once he was out, we knew their plans will be disturbed as the batter who plays the role of the anchor was gone," Bhuvneshwar said in the press conference.
The victory came nearly after a year, when Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in a group match at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE. However, Bhuvneshwar stressed that India didn't think about the defeat during the Asia Cup match.
"We had forgotten about the match against Pakistan that we lost last year. Honestly, as a cricketer we do not think about the result, I know people can have their expectations. We lose against other teams as well, but we do not talk about them that match as compared to when we lose against Pakistan. We just leave everything behind and keep moving ahead."
