Dubai: A strong bowling performance followed by some power packed batting saw India thrash arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets in their Group A clash of the Asia Cup cricket tournament here on Wednesday.

Asked to field first, three-wicket hauls from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav enabled India to restrict Pakistan to a paltry 162. Bhuvneshwar returned figures of 3/15 while Jadhav got 3/23.

In reply, a quickfire half-century by Rohit Sharma and his 86-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan saw India overhaul the target with a whopping 21 overs to spare.

Rohit plundered 52 runs off 39 deliveries, hitting six boundaries and three sixes along the way.

Brief scores:

Pakistan: 162 in 43.1 overs (Babar Azam 47, Shoaib Malik 43; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 47, Kedar Jadhav 3/23) lost to India: 164/2 in 29 overs (Rohit Sharma 52, Shikhar Dhawan 46) by eight wickets. (IANS)