India defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win their opening Group A match of the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium thanks to the heroics of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. On a two-paced pitch, India required 59 off the final six overs after Pakistan reached 147 all out in 19.5 overs.
From there, a partnership of 52 runs off just 29 balls was shared by Pandya (33 not out) and Jadeja (35). Even though left-handed Jadeja was out in the last over, Pandya brought India across the finish line and added another dramatic chapter to the history of India-Pakistan matches with a six over long-on.
Similar against Pakistan, India enjoyed a memorable first over. On just his second T20I ball, rookie bowler Naseem Shah struck as K.L. Rahul inside-edged to his stumps. While chasing a wide ball in his 100th T20I, Virat Kohli was dropped by Fakhar Zaman at second slip. With numerous inside and outside edges coming off his bat, Kohli felt uneasy during his start.
When he pushed through mid-wicket off Shahnawaz Dahani in the second over, he displayed signs of his commanding self. Kohli's authority was evident in his slice through cover and whipping over mid-wicket to grab two boundaries following a top-edge that sailed over the keeper's head for a six.
Mohammad Nawaz was slog-swept over long-on by Rohit Sharma in the ninth over after he had been conservative up to that point. Rohit holed out to long-off on the penultimate delivery of the over, giving the victory to the left-arm spinner. Nawaz claimed another significant victim in his subsequent over as Kohli chipped directly to long-off.
Jadeja knocked Nawaz to the ground for a 98-meter six as soon as he was promoted to number four. He and Suryakumar Yadav each scored four runs while primarily relying on strike rotation to advance the score.
Naseem broke the 36-run stand by hitting Suryakumar's off-stump with the first delivery of his second spell, ending the partnership. Jadeja and Hardik Pandya persevered to reduce the equation to 32 off the final three overs with 41 required off the final four overs. Pakistan was penalised for a slow over rate, much like India, by having an additional fielder enter the 30-year circle.
As a result of their pacers developing cramps and Jadeja surviving a lbw appeal from Naseem Shah despite plainly being in discomfort, a review revealed that the ball had pitched outside the leg-stump at that point. Pakistan was in trouble. India needed 21 runs off the final two overs, but on the very next ball, Jadeja lofted with a straight bat down the ground for six.
As Babar chased the 'all' but was unable to prevent it from touching the boundary rope, Pandya flat-batted Haris Rauf over extra-cover on the third delivery of the 19th over to get a boundary. On the final delivery, Pandya delivered a short-arm jab for a four that split deep mid-wicket and long-on with absolute precision. He then smashed Rauf over wide long-on.
Nawaz struck on the first delivery of the final over when seven runs were still needed, clean bowling Jadeja as he attempted a long slog. Using a powerful finish, Pandya defeated Nawaz over long-on to claim the victory in a thrilling encounter.
Brief scores: Pakistan 147 all out in 19.5 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 43, Iftikhar Ahmed 28; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-26, Hardik Pandya 3-24) lost to India 148-5 in 19.4 overs (Virat Kohli 35, Ravindra Jadeja 35; Mohammad Nawaz 3-33, Naseem Shah 2-27) by five wickets