'Barish Ke Time Chai Pakode…,' Virender Sehwag Takes Savage Dig At ACC After Rain Spoils India vs Pakistan Match In Kandy
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has come under fire after rain disrupted the highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan at the Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka.
Najam Sethi, the ex chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), first made fun of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for their position favouring Sri Lanka as the tournament's second host after Pakistan. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag also made a subtle jab at ACC's bad scheduling in the most recent update.
How disheartening! Rain spoils cricket's greatest match. But that was predicted. I encouraged the ACC to play in the UAE as PCB Chair, but pathetic justifications were offered to accommodate Sri Lanka. They said Dubai was too hot.
However, the temperature was just as high during the most recent Asia Cup in September 2022, as well as the April 2014 and September 2020 IPL matches. Sports versus politics. Inexcusable," Sethi said on the social networking network X.
"Baarish ke time toh Chai Pakode rakhte hain yaar," Sehwag tweeted afterwards. Asia Cup wasn't that bad. You have fritters during the rainy season, but they also have the Asia Cup."
In their Asia Cup 2023 campaign opening here at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, Pakistan's pacer attack destroyed Men in Blue's top order. Hardik Pandya's outstanding batting showing and Ishan Kishan's unrestrained 82 helped India record 266.
The 138 from 140 balls that Kishan and Pandya shared set the stage for India's 266. The Indian batting was outclassed by Pakistan's fast attack, which saw the Men in Blue dismissed for 266 in 48.5 overs.
India's top order was completely destroyed by Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, who also claimed the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. Both Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf claimed three wickets apiece.
First to bat, India captain Rohit Sharma was fortunate that Pakistani captain Babar Azam fumbled the new ball to bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who came dangerously close to pulling off what could have been a major breakthrough for his team. The second delivery of the game saw the ball run away for a four.
Rain stopped play with India down 15-0 after 4.2 overs. With his decisive style, Rohit forced the Pakistani bowlers to work really hard and take full advantage of the fantastic batting conditions available. Shubman Gill, on the other hand, took his time getting comfortable on the pitch.
Rain forced a half-hour break, but the play soon resumed. When Afridi produced an in-swinging ripper delivery that managed to get past Rohit's defence, India suffered a severe blow.
Virat Kohli was called to the crease by Rohit's wicket, and the star batsman made an impression with a traditional cover drive. Pakistan's premier pacer, Afridi, ended Kohli's innings at the wicket with an excellent attack that the Indian top-order was unable to counter. With a decent length delivery from Afridi, Kohli played the ball over his stumps.
After hitting Kohli's back pad, the ball altered course and fell on the stumps, putting India under extreme pressure. Rohit and Kohli were sent fleeing to the pavilion by Afridi's deadly in-swingers. After 7 overs, India was down 30-2 as a result of the early punches.
The next batsman to come to bat was Shreyas Iyer, a right-hander. Despite a decline in scoring rate, India's scoreboard remained active thanks to the efforts of southpaw Gill and right-handed Iyer.
Haris Rauf was criticised by Iyer for hitting two boundaries as he skillfully found the space between mid-on and mid-wicket fielders to score fours. Iyer erred, sending the ball skyward and landing squarely in the palms of Fakhar Zaman, who made a fine catch at mid-wicket off a short ball from Haris Rauf.
With 11.2 overs remaining, India was at 51/3 when the rain stopped play once more. Kishan hit a six off Rauf's delivery to start India's batting again after the rain stopped. The struggling Shubman Gill, who is desperate to get back into form, was unable to perform well with the bat under new circumstances once more. Gill was still having trouble with the bat as of the fifteenth over.
Rauf outlasted Gill with a delivery that was longer than it should have been. The whole tale of the over was told by a thunderous shout from Rauf and a moan from Gill. Then, Hardik Pandya, a right-handed batsman, stepped up to take the ball and opened his bat face to guide it to the third man. Pandya heralded his arrival with a four.
Even after losing four wickets, Kishan continued to play aggressive strokes. From that point on, Kishan and Pandya spearheaded India's innings, guiding their team's total past 100 runs in less than 20 overs. India's score after 20 overs of play was 102/4.
After the interval, Pandya and Kishan effectively rotated the strike and steadied the falling Indian ship, preventing the Pakistani bowlers from settling down as they hit the loose balls that were presented.
In the pressure-filled match, Kishan's gutsy attitude paid off as the batter reached his half-century in 54 runs. Upon his arrival, Pandya scored a stunning fifty-six in sixty-two balls.