Mohammad Rizwan scored 71 off 51 while Mohammad Nawaz smashed 42 off 20 as Pakistan chased down 182 by five wickets in a super four fixture on August 4.
The second contest between India and Pakistan in two weeks, and boy, did it produce another thriller. Pakistan held their nerves in the end to avenge their earlier loss against arch-rivals India in the group stage. Nawaz was the hero for Pakistan, playing an astonishing knock after being floated up the order.
Chasing 182, Pakistan were reeling behind the game courtesy of some poor batting by the top order. Babar Azam’s poor form in the format continued as he chipped a delivery by Ravi Bishnoi straight to midwicket for 14. Fakhar Zaman struggled to get going and was eventually holed out for 15 off 18 – off Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling, trying to smack him out the ground.
Pakistan were 63/2 in 8.4 overs when Nawaz joined Rizwan in the middle. The move to promote Nawaz up the order proved to be fruitful as the left-hander smashed Indian bowlers to bring down the required rate to a doable equation. Nawaz hit six fours, and two sixes in his knock of 20-ball 42 before Bhuvneshwar Kumar had him caught at long off.
Rizwan had picked up the pace and brought up his fifty off 37 balls. The duo added 73 runs for the third wicket in 7.1 overs. Rizwan followed Nawaz soon after as he lofted Hardik Pandya straight to long-off.
34 required off 18. Bishnoi bowled an outstanding 18th over and conceded only 8 despite three wides. The over also had a massive moment of the match as Arshdeep Singh dropped an easy catch of Asif Ali at short third – and as things stand currently, the vile creatures in India are having a go at him for it.
Back to the game, Rohit Sharma handed the ball to India’s second most trusted bowler after Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar. But the experienced pro was smashed by Asif Ali for a six and a four, with Khushdil Shah also hitting a boundary to take 19 off the over.
Arshdeep had the responsibility to bowl the last over with only 7 runs to defend and with an over-rate penalty allowing one less fielder outside the circle. An excellent yorker first up that Khushdil managed to edge it on toes for a single. Arshdeep tried to continue nailing the yorkers, but a slight error meant Asif Ali dispatched the full toss over bowler’s head for a boundary.
2 needed of 4. Surely Pakistan have it secured. Arshdeep bowled a dot on the third ball and trapped Asif LBW with a terrific yorker. Two off two, Arshdeep missed the yorker again, and Iftikhar Ahmed hit it straight past the bowler for a double.
Earlier, India had a flying start to their innings, with Rohit smashing 28 off 16 and KL Rahul scoring 28 off 20. The opening pair added 54 runs in five overs before Sharma top-edged one off Haris Rauf. Rahul followed him soon, trying to hit Shadab Khan over long-on.
Virat looked in magnificent touch, holding one end after the openers were gone and scoring 60 off 44 before a freak run-out in the last over. However, he didn’t get much support from India’s middle order.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 13 off 10, while Rishabh Pant managed 14 in 12 balls. Hardik had a terrible game, getting dismissed for a two-ball duck and later conceding 44 in four overs. Deepak Hooda could only score 16 off 14 as India didn’t get the final push they needed.
Having lost the match, India will head into a must-win game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Pakistan and Sri Lanka occupy the top two spots in the Super 4, having won their respective matches.
Brief scores
India 181/7 in 20 overs (Kohli 60, Sharma 28; Khan 2/31, Nawaz 1/25) lost to Pakistan 182/5 in 19.5 overs (Rizwan 71, Nawaz 42; Bishnoi 1/26, Arshdeep Singh 1/27) by five wickets.
