By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan clinched the Emerging Asia Cup title with a thumping 128-run victory over arch-rivals India in the final on Sunday, powered by a brilliant century from Tayyab Tahir.
The 25-year-old opener smashed 108 off 71 balls, including 13 fours and four sixes, as Pakistan piled up 352 for eight in their 50 overs after electing to bat first at the R Premadasa Stadium.
India, who had won all their previous matches in the tournament, never looked in contention as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 224 in the 41st over.
Abhishek Sharma top-scored for India with a fighting 54, but none of the other batsmen could cope with the disciplined bowling from Pakistan, who shared the wickets among six bowlers.
Sufiyan Muqeem was the pick of the attack with three for 66, while Mohammad Wasim Junior claimed two for 26.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Haris, who scored a quickfire 36 off 19 balls, said he was proud of his team’s performance and praised Tahir for his match-winning knock.
“He played an outstanding innings. He was very positive from the start and he took the game away from them,” Haris said at the presentation ceremony. “He has been very consistent throughout the tournament and he deserved to get the man of the match award.”
Haris also lauded his bowlers for executing their plans well and putting pressure on India’s batsmen. “We knew that if we get early wickets, we can put them under pressure. Our bowlers bowled really well and they did not give them any easy runs,” he said.
India captain Yash Dhull congratulated Pakistan for their dominant display and said his team had learnt a lot from the tournament. “They batted really well and they put up a big target on the board. We tried our best but we could not chase it down,” Dhull said. “It was a good experience for us to play in this tournament. We have learnt a lot from playing against different teams and we will try to improve in the future.”
The Emerging Asia Cup is a List A cricket tournament featuring teams from eight Asian countries. It is considered as a second-tier level of international cricket, below the full senior international teams.
Pakistan’s senior team, led by Babar Azam, will face India in their next assignment in the Asia Cup 2023, which will be held in Sri Lanka in September.
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