 "Abrar Ahmed gives Shubman Gill a send-off after dismissing the opening batter for 44 during the Champions Trophy Group A match between India and Pakistan. Reuters")
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed got rid of in-form opener Shubman Gill with a beauty during the ICC Champions Trophy Group A clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday. Gill had starred in India’s six-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Thursday with an unbeaten 101, and was looking set to post another big score in the highly-anticipated showdown against India’s arch-rivals when he was cleaned up by Abrar in the 18th over, resulting in India losing their second wicket with 100 on the board.
It was every bit a dream delivery for Abrar – getting a carrom ball to land on length around leg and turn sharply to clip the ball between off and middle. Gill was fairly well set at that point and the partnership, worth 69 at the time of the dismissal, was also starting to worry Mohammad Rizwan and his men.
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Someone from the Pakistani attack had to produce something special to break the stand like left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s searing yorker that castled India skipper Rohit Sharma in the opening powerplay. And in the end, it was Abrar – the only front-line spinner included in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy squad – who stood up and delivered.
**Watch Abrar dismiss Gill with a jaffa:
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Impact Shorts
More ShortsNot only was Gill left with a perplexed expression on his face after getting castled with what could be a strong contender for ‘Ball of the Tournament’, Abrar did not waste the opportunity to give the ‘Prince’ a little send-off.
The Men in Green, however, aren’t in a position to breathe easy just yet with Indian batting star Virat Kohli, who broke another of Sachin Tendulkar’s records on Sunday, still at the crease. At the halfway stage of India’s chase of the 242-run target set by Pakistan , Kohli was batting on 46 off 60 balls with Shreyas Iyer (10 not out) for company.