"Bowled better than what they did in the first match" - Dinesh Karthik on Pakistan's bowling vs India in Super 4 fixture of Asia Cup 2023

Dinesh Karthik opined that Pakistan's bowling performance in the Super 4 fixture against India in the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Sunday (September 10) was significantly better than their exploits in their group-stage encounter.

Karthik, however, suggested that Pakistan were rattled by the counter-attacking approach of Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. He claimed that the Men in Blue controlled the game, despite the bowling-friendly conditions.

The 38-year-old made these remarks while speaking to Cricbuzz. He said:

"What will worry them (Pakistan) is how the Indian batters played Shaheen Afridi. The conditions suited fast bowling at that point. Shaheen Afridi tried a bit, in fact, I would say they bowled better than what they did in the first match. They actually bowled a better spell, but here it was India calling the shots. That, for me, is a statement, and a good statement."

Notably, Babar Azam and Co. relied on their spearhead Shaheen Afridi to provide them with early breakthroughs. However, the left-arm pacer struggled to get going, conceding 31 runs in his first three overs.

Both Gill and Sharma notched up fine half-centuries, scoring 58 and 56, respectively. The duo propelled India into the pole position with their 121-run partnership.

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"Very good sign for Pakistan" - Dinesh Karthik on Shaheen Afridi picking wickets with the slower ball

Shubman Gill's wonderful knock came to an end after he perished to Shaheen Afridi in the 18th over. The left-arm pacer deceived him with a fantastic slower delivery, getting him out caught at cover.

Dinesh Karthik stated that Shaheen's wrist position makes it difficult for the batters to judge the pace of the ball. He claimed that the speedster could achieve a lot of success at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 with his change of pace. He said:

"You could see technically what he does is because he has this wrist whip when he bowls the normal ball, and for his action, when he decides to bowl a slower ball, he changes it rather late in his delivery stride. So, it becomes really difficult as a batter to pick which one is the slower ball and which is the normal ball. And hence, you are always playing for the stock ball which comes at 140 kph."

He added:

"But the last-minute change of wrist means that at the point of delivery, your mind is telling you it is a 140 kph ball. So, you are getting ready to play that, and then by the time you realise it is a slower one, you are little late. This is a very good sign for Pakistan because if Shaheen Afridi can bowl that slower ball and get wickets, you will see him pick up quite a few wickets in this World Cup." he added.

India were 147/2 in 24.1 overs when rain stopped play in Colombo. Fortunately, a reserve day was set for the fixture and the game will now resume on Monday.