Hardik Pandya’s all-round show and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s brilliance with the ball propelled India to a thrilling win over Pakistan in the second game of the Asia Cup 2022 on August 28. On a hot and humid eve, India quicks employed the short-ball tactics to great effect, with each of Pakistan’s top-five falling to the trap.
Babar Azam was bounced out by Bhuvneshwar in just the third over after India opted to bowl, and so was Fakhar Zaman by Avesh Khan, with the left-hander opting to walk back after neither the fielders nor the umpire had spotted the outside edge. Mohammad Rizwan (43 off 42) and Iftikhar Ahmed (28 off 22) laid the foundation but were not allowed for a flourish as Hardik’s inspired burst accounted for the two and Khushdil Shah in quick succession.
Pakistan eventually stumbled to 128/9, with Bhuvneshwar dismissing power-hitter Asif Ali and all-rounder Shadab Khan to round off a highly impressive spell of 4/26, before No. 11 Shahnawaz Dahani struck 16 off six, including two towering hits, as the innings folded out at 147 in 19.5 overs.
India were rocked early in the chase by a 19-year-old debutant Nazeem Shah, who castled KL Rahul for a golden duck. Naseem and Dhahai kept Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in check thereafter, beating the bat on multiple occasions while moving it away in the air and off the pitch at a great pace. Kohli got a reprieve on just his second ball, with Zaman failing to hold on to a tough chance in the second slip. He top-edged one for six too, but confident pull strokes revived hopes of a return to form.
Rohit tonked left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz for a six over mid-wicket to break free, but the latter had the last laugh, dismissing the pair right-before the halfway mark in almost an identical fashion, both mistiming lofts to mid-off. India sent in Ravindra Jadeja for a suited match-up, and the all-rounder promptly struck a six and a four off Nawaz to knock him out of the attack.
Pakistan, however, held on, with Shadab restricting the scoring with his wrist-spin, conceding just 19 from his four overs before Naseem returned to send Suryakumar Yadav’s off-stump cartwheeling.
Pakistan were hampered by their slow over-rate, forcing to have an extra fielder inside the ring in the final three overs of their defence, and Naseem and Haris Rauf cramping up didn’t help the cause either.
Jadeja smashed Naseem for a four and a six in the 18th over, and Hardik found the boundary thrice off Rauf in the 19th, as India were left with seven to get off the final six.
Nawaz dismissed Jadeja on the first ball of the final over, and brought it down to six required off three. Hardik smashed one flat over long-on, finishing with an unbeaten 33 off 17 that sealed the deal. Having returned 3/25 with the ball earlier, he was named the Player of the Match.
Afghanistan, who registered a thumping eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, will take on Bangladesh in Sharjah on August 30.
Brief scores
Pakistan 147 all-out in 19.5 overs (Rizwan 43; Kumar 4-26, Pandya 3-25) lost to India 148/5 in 19.4 overs (Kohli 35, Jadeja 35, Pandya 33*; Nawaz 3-33, Shah 2-27) by five wickets.
