India and Pakistan clashed for the second time in the Asia Cup 2022, this time in the Super 4s stage in Dubai on September 4. India had won the encounter when the two sides met in the group stage last Sunday.
Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bowl first. Both teams had to make a few changes as Pakistan brought in Mohammad Hasnain for injured Shahnawaz Dahani. India, on the other hand, included Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and Ravi Bishnoi in place of Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and Avesh Khan.
India opener Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went after the Pakistani bowlers in the powerplay and added 54 runs in 5.1 overs when Rohit Sharma got out to Haris Rauf for 28 in 16 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. KL Rahul continued and slammed 28 in 20 balls with 2 sixes and 1 four.
India then lost some momentum despite Virat Kohli holding the innings together scoring 60 in 44 balls with 4 fours and 1 six before getting run out in the last over. Suryakumar Yadav made 13, Rishabh Pant made 14, and Hardik Pandya fell for a duck. Deepak Hooda played a cameo of 16 runs. Even Ravi Bishnoi hit two fours off the last two balls to take India to 181/7 in 20 overs.
For Pakistan, it was the spinners Shadab Khan (2/31) and Mohammad Nawaz (1/25) who stifled runs in the middle overs. Rauf, Naseem, and Hasnain picked one wicket each.
Mohammad Rizwan’s 71 Leads The Chase As Pakistan Win By 5 Wickets
Mohammad Rizwan was the best batter for Pakistan once more as he slammed his third successive fifty in the Asia Cup. He made 71 in 51 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Babar Azam made 14 runs, but the best supporting knock came from Mohammad Nawaz who hammered 42 in 20 balls, his best T20I score.
Despite losing crucial wickets, Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali looked to take Pakistan to the win when Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 19 runs in the 19th over with 26 needed in the last 12 balls.
The match went right down to the wire with the victory coming on the penultimate ball, with 5 wickets in hand. This ended India’s unbeaten run in the Asia Cup tournament as they hadn’t lost one match in the 2016 and 2018 editions, with one tie.
After the match, India captain Rohit Sharma had this to say:
“It’s a high-pressure game we know that. You’ve got to be at it every time. A game like that can take a lot. We were calm even when there was a partnership between Rizwan and Nawaz. But that partnership obviously went a little long and they batted brilliantly. Games like this can bring the best out of them if they deliver. These are the games that can make them.
They’ve done it in the past. There’s a class in the other team as well. And we’re not surprised with that. We understand the pitch gets slightly better in the second innings. It’s good learning for us. I thought it was a good score. Any pitch, any conditions when you get 180 it’s a good score. We got to learn a lot today – what sort of mindset we need to have when defending a score like that.
ike I said you’ve got to give credit to Pakistan. They’ve played better than us. The form is brilliant (talking about Kohli). Needed someone to bat long when the others were getting out. He batted with that tempo as well. Virat getting that score was crucial from the team’s point of view. Wickets of Hardik and Rishabh were not needed at that time. But we want to play with an open mindset. While taking that approach you’ll not always have success.”
CREDIT: Cricket Addictor
