India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets at Asia Cup: 5 talking points from a low-scoring thriller
An all-round performance by Hardik Pandya and a 4-wicket haul by Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in a low-scoring Asia Cup T20I thriller at Dubai on Sunday.
Chasing 148 runs to win, India were struggling at a moment, but Pandya (33 off 17) and Ravindra Jadeja's (35 off 29) 52-run stand helped the team reach the target in 19.4 overs.
With this victory, India also avenged its humiliating loss against Pakistan at the World T20 last year.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) was once again the pick of the bowlers after India decided to bowl first. Pandya took 3 key wickets while Arshdeep Singh picked up two as Pakistan were bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs.
For Pakistan, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan (43) was the top scorer while Mohammad Nawaz was the top wicket taker as he dismissed three Indian batsmen. Pacer Naseem Shah, who made his debut, was also very impressive with the ball and picked up two wickets.
We take a look at five talking points from India vs Pakistan clash:
1. All-round performance by Hardik Pandya: Pandya has been in the form of his life in 2022. From winning the IPL to giving match-winning performances in almost every second game, he has proven that when fully fit, he is one of the best allrounders in the world at the moment.
With his bowling figures of 3/25 in 4 overs, he had already done his part, but when India lost wickets in quick succession, Pandya stood on the pitch and made sure to take the team to the target. All through his innings of 33, he looked in control and hit four boundaries and a six. With the ball, he picked the two top scorers of Pakistan: Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
2. Brilliant Bhuvneshwar: In the T20I format, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been India's key bowler over the years, especially when there is some help from the pitch. On Sunday also, the right-arm pacer from Meerut was at his best and picked up 4 wickets while giving away just 26 runs.
His 4-wicket haul also included the prized scalp of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (10) and allrounder Asif Ali (9). Not only did he pick wickets at regular intervals, Bhuvneshwar also made sure that the Pakistan batsmen could not score runs freely in the powerplay, which put extra pressure on the middle order.
3. Virat Kohli back in form: Another big positive for India in the win against Pakistan was that former captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Virat Kohli, (35), was the joint top scorer for the team along with Ravindra Jadeja. After losing KL Rahul on the first ball, India needed a solid partnership. And his 49-run stand with captain Rohit Sharma (12) put India in the driver's seat.
Though he was also lucky as he was dropped in the slips off Naseem Shah's bowling, Kohli played a few brilliant shots which included two glorious pull shots and gave us a hint of how good an in-form Kohli could be.
4. Debutant Naseem Shah: Losing Shaheen Afridi due to an injury ahead of India clash was a big blow for Pakistan. But debutant Naseem Shah made a dream start to his T20I career as he got rid of Rahul off the second ball of the innings and could have got another one in the over had Kohli not been dropped in the slips. Shah was quick, made the ball move and looked like taking wickets almost every other delivery.
Rohit and other top order batsmen struggled against him and Suryakumar Yadav (18), who has been a key batsman for India, was also dismissed due to his pace. He suffered a cramp in his legs towards the end of the innings, but continued to bowl and ended up with an impressive figures of 2/27 in 4 overs.
5. Mohammed Rizwan's solid batting: Losing their captain and the star batsman Babar Azam was a big blow for Pakistan. But Rizwan, who is known for playing quick-fire knocks, played a sensible innings to make sure Pakistan reach to a fighting total. His 42-ball 43 included crucial partnerships with Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Rizwan hit 4 boundaries and a six, but most of the runs came from singles and doubles. As other batsmen kept struggling for runs, Rizwan made sure that the scoreboard kept ticking before he was dismissed off a short ball by Pandya in the 15th over.