WATCH: Pakistan’s Sufiyan Muqueem engages in verbal battle with Abhishek Sharma in Emerging Asia Cup 2024

The duo of Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh gave a flying start to India against Pakistan in the ongoing Emerging Asia Cup 2024. Abhishek smashed 35 runs off 22 deliveries before Sufiyan Muqueem picked up his wicket in the seventh over. The Men in Blue looked flawless in the powerplay scoring 68 runs but soon after its completion, India lost the crucial wicket of Abhishek.

He tried to play it over point but Qasim Akram picked a good catch to send Abhishek back to the pavilion. However, Sufiyan, who picked up the wicket decided to give him a verbal send-off, which infuriated the Indian opener. The 24-year-old was on his way back but decided to stop and respond to Sufiyan but the umpires intervened. 

Watch the video below: 

Notably, Sufiyan played only three T20I matches for Pakistan, picking up four wickets at an economy of 6.10. He featured for Pakistan in the Asian Games but apart from that, never played for the senior team.

Pakistan need 184 runs to win

India had a terrific time with the bat in the first innings at Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) at Al Amerat in Oman. Opener Prabhsimran Singh smashed 36 runs off just 19 deliveries while captain Tilak Varma played the role of an anchor, scoring 44 runs off 35 balls. Batting at number four, Nehal Wadhera made 25 runs off 22 deliveries.

The Men in Blue struggled after that. Ramandeep Singh played a good knock of 17 runs of 11 balls but Ayush Badoni and Nishant Sandhu disappointed. Meanwhile, Jammu’s Rasikh Salam finished the innings with a cracking six as India posted 183 runs in the first innings.

For Pakistan, Sufiyan picked up two wickets for 28 runs in four overs. The focus will now be on Indian bowlers, as they have a huge responsibility. The likes of Vaibhav Arora and Rashik will be key to India’s success.