The crucial partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya helped India defeat arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling clash by five wickets in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma said after the match said, “Halfway through the chase, we still knew that we can win irrespective of the situation and did not panic. We had the belief and when you have that belief, these things can happen. It’s about giving clarity to the guys so that they know their roles well. It was a bit challenging but I’ll take wins like this any day over usual victories.
“Yes, India’s pace bowling has come a long way in the last year or so and they have adapted well to different situations. Since the time Hardik has made his comeback, he’s been brilliant both with the bat and ball. He is a lot calmer now and more confident about what he wants to do.”
Jadeja smashed 35 while Pandya hammered 33* in 17 balls. For Pakistan Mohammad Nawaz bagged three and Naseem Shah scalped two wickets. Chasing 148 runs, India got off to a bad start as they lost their opener, KL Rahul, without even scoring a run. Rahul’s wicket brought Virat Kohli out on the crease, who is playing his 100th T20I today.
With one wicket loss, the Indian experienced duo of Rohit Sharma and Kohli played with caution but kept smashing the boundaries to keep the scoreboard running.
Virat Kohli was in red-hot form as he kept smashing boundaries to keep India in a hunt of the run chase. Rohit also opened his hand but his stint was cut short as he was dismissed by Mohammad Nawaz after scoring 12 runs.
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja then came to bat on the crease. Nawaz struck again in the same over as he cut short Kohli’s blistering form sending his back to the pavilion after scoring 35 runs in 34 deliveries.
At that point, Kohli’s wicket put India under pressure, but that was instantly eased by Jadeja who smashed Nawaz for a six. After 10 over India’s score read 62/3.
Suryakumar Yadav then joined Jadeja in smashing Pakistan bowlers all around the ground. Both batters played some big shots with grit to keep India’s run chase hunt alive.
Pakistan made a stunning comeback in the match as their bowler Naseem Shah bowled out Suryakumar Yadav after scoring 18 runs in 18 balls. All-rounder Hardik Pandya came to the crease to join hands with Jadeja.
In the 18th over equation for the win went down to 32 runs needed in 18 balls. Jadeja smashed a four and a six in the 18th over of the innings.
In the 19th over Pandya smashed three boundaries and took India to near the win as they needed seven runs in six balls. In the last over Nawaz gave a big blow to the Indian team as he dismissed Jadeja after scoring 35 runs in 29 balls.
Dinesh Karthik then came to bat. Pandya then smashed a huge six on the fourth delivery of the last over and took his team home by five wickets against Pakistan.
Team India after winning the toss was successful in restricting Pakistan to a total of 147 courtesy of some fantastic bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar who picked 4 wickets giving away just 26 runs.
While the spinners contained the scoring from one end, it was Hardik Pandya who kept picking wickets at crucial times. Virat Kohli showing signs of form made a well-composed 35 to lay down a good foundation after the team lost a few early wickets.
Hardik Pandya was judged the Player of the Match.
He said, “In bowling, it’s important to assess the situations and use your weapons. For me, bowling short and hard lengths have been my strengths. It’s about using them well and asking the right questions to make the batters commit a mistake.”
“In a chase like this, you always plan over by over. I always knew that there is one young bowler and also one left-arm spinner. We only needed 7 off the last over but even if we needed 15, I’d have fancied myself. I know the bowler is under more pressure than me in the 20th over. I try to keep things simple.”
Babar Azam, Pakistan Captain said, “We started well with the ball. In the end, we were about 10-15 runs short. Bowlers did really well to make a match of this. Our tail also stepped up to add those handy runs. The thought was to take the game deep. Idea was to create pressure but Hardik finished well.”
