It was the second match in the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup 2022 and the tournament saw two heavyweights clashing against each other, once again in the tournament. Dubai International Stadium hosted the match and it was the Pakistan skipper, who won the toss and elected to field first.
Indian openers got off to a cracking start with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul laying a much-needed foundation. However, the duo perished quickly and made way for Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. The latter, who played some fiery shots, couldn’t really get past 13 runs and India were reduced to 91/3 on the back of his wicket.
The Pakistani bowlers displayed extreme smartness as their spinners bowled up too slow. This kept deceiving the Indian batters who looked to smash the poor deliveries. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz displayed extreme courage to flight the deliveries and slowed it up. The batters tried to make the most out of the flight but were deceived due to the slowness in the pitch.
One of the shocking moments in the game was when Hardik Pandya got out via a soft dismissal at a crucial stage in the game. Virat Kohli, however, stood firm and scored a fighting half-century. His fifty propelled India to 181 for the loss of seven wickets.
Pakistan’s brilliant chase:
Ravi Bishnoi produced the initial breakthrough as he dismissed Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam, for 14 runs. Albeit Indian bowlers kept it tight, the Pakistan batters, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman kept the score board ticking. Indian bowlers tried their best to prevent the flow of singles and doubles but the pitch at Dubai International Stadium played the ultimate game.
Towards the half way mark in the second innings, the match looked equally poised. Both the teams had an equal chance of grabbing the win. The Pakistani batters kept toiling hard while the Indian bowlers continued leaking runs. Rizwan got out after playing a sensational knock of 71 runs in 51 balls. But the decision to send Mohammad Nawaz proved wonders.
There was some tension in the Pakistani dugout in the last over but Iftikhar Ahmed guided the team home on the penultimate ball. Here’s how fans reacted to the incredible clash between India and Pakistan:
CONGRATULATIONS PAKISTAN 🤩🎉
Splendid win against India. Thumbs up to Nawaz and Rizwan for their brilliant performances and to Asif and Khushdil for finishing the match.🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰❤️🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰#INDvsPAK2022 #INDvsPAK2022 #INDvsPAK #Pakistan
— Ahmad (@AhmadMudasir0) September 4, 2022
Whoever sent Nawaz up the order has played the G.O.A.T move.#INDvsPAK #PAKvIND
— Khan saab 🇵🇰 (@HaniiSays) September 4, 2022
CONGRATULATIONS PAKISTAN 🤩🎉
Splendid win against India. Thumbs up to Nawaz and Rizwan for their brilliant performances and to Asif and Khushdil for finishing the match.🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰❤️🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰#INDvsPAK2022 #INDvsPAK2022 #INDvsPAK #Pakistan
— Ahmad (@AhmadMudasir0) September 4, 2022
Congratulations #Pakistan 🔥🔥🔥💝
Just 🔥🔥🔥🔥#INDvsPAK #AsiaCup #TejaTroops #TejasswiPrakash
— Tufayel Ahmed (@realtufayel) September 4, 2022
Pakistan, brilliant today. Well done #AsiaCupT20 #INDvsPAK #INDvsPAK
— Harry Gulati (@iHarryGulati) September 4, 2022
India team has no bowlers to win the Asia Cup and T20 wc #INDvsPAK
— 🚩👑मिथिला नरेश 👑🚩 (@LahariyaCut) September 4, 2022
Our bowlers left no stone unturned to throw cold water on our batsman efforts 🤐#INDvsPAK #AsiaCup2022
— Shaun 🏀 (@Shaun_Rulex) September 4, 2022
#INDvsPAK congratulations Pakistan
— Haryana Aala (@Haryanaaalabhai) September 4, 2022
Anyways, Brilliantly played today Pakistan! Congratulations 👍 #INDvsPAK
— Ritvik Saxena (@imritvik) September 4, 2022
Pakistan wins by 5 wickets! #INDvsPAK #INDvsPAK2022
— Pratik Pathak (@Pratik_writes) September 4, 2022
Jeet gye yaar #INDvsPAK
— New Account (@SinceDyeEra) September 4, 2022
