All-rounder Hardik Pandya proved to be the difference between the archrivals India and Pakistan in testing conditions in Dubai on Sunday night as he powered his side to a memorable win by 5 wickets in a thrilling contest of the Asia Cup 2022 tournament.
Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets and produced a brilliant knock of 33 not out from 17 balls with 4 fours and a match-winning six to power India to a hard-working win by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare.
In a contest wherein fortunes never really favoured any particular side — though the Indian bowlers had set the tone in favour of the team in the first half of the match by dismissing Pakistan for 147 — India came out to be the better side in what was the first meeting between the two teams in this year’s Asia Cup.
About 10 months after the two teams met once again in Dubai, Indian bowlers ruled the roost against Pakistani batsmen after being inflicted a 10-wicket defeat in the ICC 2021 T20 World Cup match last year.
In that game, Indian bowlers were completely ineffective as Pakistan scored 152/0 with Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan shining for their side.
But on Sunday night, the Indian bowlers used the short ball to perfection as they bounced several of Pakistani batsmen out, including their captain Babar Azam for just 10, while Mohammad Rizwan could never really get going in his 42-ball 43 which included 4 boundaries and a six.
The Indian bowlers kept chipping away with wickets as Hardik Pandya accounted for the likes of Mohammed Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed (28) and Khushdil Shah (2) to return with 4-0-25-3.
But the pick among bowlers for the Indians was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’, who was mighty impressive in his spell of 4-0-26-4. The young Arshdeep Singh took 2/33 from his 3.5 overs whereas Avesh Khan took 1/19 from his 2 overs.
Towards the end, a spirited knock of 6-ball 16 studded with 2 sixes from Shahnawaz Dahani and 7-ball 13 from Haris Rauf took Pakistan closer to the 150-run mark. The Pakistani side was bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs.
The young right-arm Pakistani fast bowler Naseem Shah, who was making his debut in the format, rocked India early when he had KL Rahul playing one on to his wickets for a first-ball duck and bowled his heart out in a spell that was marred by extreme heat and conditions in Dubai. Naseem Shah struggled for fitness but won hearts in a special spell in which his figures read 4-0-27-2.
Making a comeback to the Indian side, former captain Virat Kohli played a calculated, important but not-so-fluent knock of 35 from 34 balls with one six and 3 boundaries and he was joint top scorer with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was promoted at No 4 in the contest.
Ravindra Jadeja battled hard and long for India to make 35 from 29 balls with a couple of sixes and as many boundaries but the star of India’s victory was Hardik Pandya, who held onto his nerves in the final over to hit a boundary and a six to finish the game for his side in the company of wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik.
While KL Rahul disappointed with a first-ball duck, India captain Rohit Sharma could make only 12 from 18 balls and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav made a run-a-ball 18.
India will next face Hong Kong on August 31 at the same venue whereas Pakistan will be seen in action on September 2, Friday against the same side in Sharjah.