The stage was perfectly set for the India-Pakistan clash, Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat first under the scorching sun. However, the Indian bowlers were on the money right from the outset and offered no freebies early in the piece. As the frustration crept in, Imam-ul-Haq charged down the track and looked to hoick Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but could only edge it through to MS Dhoni.
Fakhar Zaman followed suit and barring the partnership between Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam, none of the other batsmen looked settled as they perished against the spin and some smart bit of fielding. Kedar Jadhav picked up three wickets, as did Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jasprit Bumrah got 2 wickets, and Kuldeep Yadav got the all-important wicket of Babar Azam.
We take a look at all the numbers from the first innings.
: 1st innings in single digit score for Imam after three consecutive 50 plus scores.
: 5th time Bhuvneshwar has dismissed Pakistan opening batsman out of his 10 wickets against them in 8 ODIs.
: Fakhar Zaman was dismissed for a duck and this was his first duck in International cricket
: 20.30 — bowling average of Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs PAK —best against any team for him (min. 5 matches).
: Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik put together a good stand for the third wicket. Their 70-run stand was the fourth highest stand by Pakistan against India in the UAE.
: When Sarfraz Ahmed was dismissed for 6 by Kedar Jadhav, his average read10.50 — which is his average vs India — worst for him against any ODI team (Min: 2 ODIs).
: The biggest turning point came when Shoaib Malik was run out by Ambati Rayudu. This was Shoaib Malik’s first run out since 2017, when he was run out...against India at Birmingham in June 2017.
: 162 is the lowest score Pakistan has scored in the UAE.
Lowest completed totals for PAK at Dubai: -
207 v AUS, 2009
209 v SA, 2013
210 v SL, 2011
215 v AUS, 2014
222 v ENG, 2012
: This was also the 15th successive ODI where Jasprit Bumrah has taken at least one wicket: His streak stretches back to the ODI vs AUS at Indore, September 2017.
First Published: Sep 19, 2018 20:51 IST