New Delhi: Few hours after India thrashed Pakistan in their Group A clash of the Asia Cup, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) acting president CK Khanna on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Men in Blue will take revenge of their defeat at the Champions Trophy final in England last year by winning the ongoing tournament.
Talking to ANI, Khanna praised stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and his team for clinching an impressive eight-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
“They have won by a huge margin. The way they have played today, I am sure they will win the Asia Cup and take the revenge of the Champions Trophy. This was a match-winning captaincy. We are happy with this big win.”
Lauding the performance of bowlers and batsmen, Khanna added, “Bhuvneshwar bowled really well, Bumrah got able to support. The openers, especially Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form. All of them played well as a team.”
Indian bowlers put up a sensational performance to bundle out the Pakistan side for 162 runs in 43.1 overs after the latter opted to bat first. Besides Babar Azam (47) and Shoaib Malik (43), none of the other Pakistani batsmen was able to contribute much to their side’s innings.
In reply, India did not break much sweat and clinched the victory with 126 balls to spare. Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan gave a solid start to the Indian side as they notched up 52 and 46 runs respectively, besides also accumulating a collective 86 runs for the first wicket.
Subsequently, Ambati Raydu (31) and Dinesh Karthik (31) remained unbeaten at the crease to drive the team towards the victory with 126 balls to spare.
Following the victory, fans across the country also celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
A fan said, “We are very happy with this win. Our batsmen and bowlers clicked together. We are hopeful that our boys will continue their good performance and win the Asia Cup.”
Another fan echoed similar sentiments and said, “Our bowlers restricted Pakistan to a very less total. We were confident that India will win this match. India-Pakistan matches are very good. Everyone likes to see such games. Hope this team plays well in the semifinals and Asia Cup will definitely come to India.”
India, who have finished at the top spot in Group A, will now lock horns with Bangladesh in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on September 21.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]