Saturday night Blues for Pakistan

MIRPUR, India recovered from three early jolts, inflicted by a devastating spell from Mohammad Amir, before notching up a five-wicket victory against archrivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20I tournament.
Amir (3/18) rocked the Indian top-order with a fast and furious four-over spell but a paltry target of 84 runs was not good enough to stop the ‘Men In Blue’ who knocked off the runs with 27 balls to spare. After opting to bowl, the Indian bowlers had demolished the Pakistan batting line-up with a superlative show as they bundled out the archrivals for 83 in just 17.3 overs.
It required the calm and class of Virat Kohli (49) to take India home without further setbacks as his 68-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (14 not out) proved to be decisive.
Kohli’s 51-ball innings had seven boundaries and he looked a cut above the rest.
This is India’s second win in the tournament, and it takes them a step closer to the final of the continental championship.
Amir breathes fire
What was supposed to be a cakewalk turned out to be a brief nightmare for India.
Rohit Sharma (0) and Ajinkya Rahane (0), replacing an injured Shikhar Dhawan, were beaten by the sheer pace of Amir. The batsmen found the late movement at a ferocious speed too hot to handle. The result was a couple of plumb leg-before decisions.
Suresh Raina’s (1) problems against the short ball are well documented and Amir started teasing him with deliveries that kicked up viciously. Raina cut a sorry figure with his hop, skip and jump technique. When Amir bowled full, the left-hander, expecting a short ball, lobbed it to Wahab Riaz at the mid-on. India were tottering at 8/3 at that stage. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had no choice but to finish Amir’s spell, in order to get a couple of more wickets and stay in the game. But Kohli, who has been Pakistan’s nemesis for some time now, showed why he is among the best in the world. He shielded Yuvraj from Amir by taking the bulk of the strike himself.
In his final over Amir tried to change the tactic and Kohli promptly whipped the ball towards square leg and cover drove him for two boundaries. Once Amir’s spell was over, it was a formality for India with Kohli gaining more confidence. By the time Kohli was adjudged leg-before off Mohammed Sami’s bowling, India were eight runs short of victory.
Scorecard
Pakistan
M Hafeez c Dhoni b Nehra 4
S Khan c Rahane b Bumrah 7
K Manzoor run out (Kohli) 10
S Malik c Dhoni b Pandya 4
U Akmal lbw b Yuvraj Singh 3
S Ahmed b Jadeja 25
S Afridi run out (Jadeja/Dhoni) 2
W Riaz lbw b Jadeja 4
M Sami c Raina b Pandya 8
M Amir b Pandya 1
M Irfan not out 0
Extras: (lb 4, w 11) 15
Total: (all out; 17.3 overs) 83
Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-22, 3-32, 4-35, 5-35, 6-42, 7-52, 8-70, 9-83
Bowling
A Nehra 3-0-20-1
J Bumrah 3-2-8-1
H Pandya 3.3-0-8-3
Y Singh 2-0-11-1
R Jadeja 3-0-11-2
R Ashwin 3-0-21-0
India
R Sharma lbw b Amir 0
A Rahane lbw b Amir 0
V Kohli lbw b Sami 49
S Raina c Riaz b Amir 1
Yuvraj Singh not out 14
H Pandya c Hafeez b Sami 0
MS Dhoni not out 7
Extras: (b 1, lb 3, w 8, nb 2) 14
Total: (5 wickets; 15.3 overs) 85
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-8, 4-76, 5-76
M Amir 4-0-18-3
M Sami 4-0-16-2
M Irfan 4-0-16-0
W Riaz 3.3-0-31-0