Pakistani pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah ran the show on Saturday against India in their Asia Cup 2023 encounter. (More Cricket News)
Spearheaded by Afridi, Pakistan's pace attack were all over India untill the partnership of Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan brought some saving grace for the Men In Blue. Despite that, the Indian top-order were no where to be seen as Shaheen Afridi blew away Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Pakistan bowled out their arch-rivals for 266 at the Pallekele International Stadium.
India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik felt that pacers from Pakistan and India are on equal footing but Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are more potent than the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj and Mohammad Shami on flat pitches because of the greater pace they generate.
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"Shaheen, Haris Rauf and Naseem can bowl 90-plus consistently and all three are very different. Shaheen Shah, obviously the left arm, has an angle to it and brings the ball back in, Naseem Shah swings the ball both ways.
"Haris is arguably one of the best bowlers right now at the back end of an inning because of his skid and the nasty bouncer that he's got," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
"For me, they (Pakistani bowlers) are a far more potent attack on flat wickets. If there is something in the pitch then both attacks (India and Pakistan) at all times become very equal but if I had to play an attack I have a feeling," added Karthik.
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Shaheen had the superb bowling figures of 4/35 in 10 overs, while the other two got three wickets each.
Karthik cited the bounce the three Pakistani bowlers generated off the pitch and the variations they bring to the table as the main reasons for their success.
The Indian cricketer also said Bumrah, Siraj and Shami would probably generate lesser bounce than their Pakistani counterparts.
"I have a better chance of probably playing Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami only because the bounce they'll get will be slightly lesser than what these three other bowlers can do from Pakistan," Karthik opined.
India play Nepal in the 2nd group game today.
(With PTI inputs)
