Pakistan won against India by 5 wickets in the Super 4 clash of the Asia Cup 2022 clash in Dubai on September 4, Sunday, and the Men in Green got their first win on board in the Super 4. It was Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who won the toss and put India to bat first. Indian openers, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma got the side off to a flyer, scoring 62 runs in the six-over powerplay.
Rohit was the first one to depart after scoring a quickfire 28 runs off 16 balls, and Rahul followed in the next over, scoring 28 runs off 20 balls. Virat Kohli came in at number three and scored 60 runs off 44 balls with a lot of promise and quality. The Indian middle order failed to deliver on the day with Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant adding only 13 and 14 runs respectively, and Hardik Pandya registered a two-ball duck.
Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan take Pakistan over finishing line
India finished with 181 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. It was the spin duo of Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan that starred with the ball, as they shared three wickets between them for only 56 runs in eight overs. Pakistan needed a strong start to chase down a challenging target of 182 but Babar fell prey in the fourth over for only 14 runs off 10 balls.
Fakhar Zaman, at number three, departed after a struggling innings of 15 runs off 18 balls. Then came the all-important partnership of Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz, which added 73 runs for the third wicket.
Nawaz got out in the 16th over after playing a gem of an innings, scoring 42 runs off 20 balls and bringing the match in Pakistan’s favour. And Rizwan, at the other end, top-scored with 71 runs off 51 balls, before getting out in the 17th over. In the end, it was Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah with cameos 16 runs off eight balls and 14 runs off 11 balls respectively, who took Babar’s side over the line.
Losing skipper, Rohit Sharma said:
It's a high pressure game we know that. You've got to be at it every time. A game like that can take a lot. We were calm even when there was a partnership between Rizwan and Nawaz. But that partnership obviously went a little long and they batted brilliantly. Games like this can bring the best out of them if they deliver. These are the games that can make them. They've done it in the past. There's a class in the other team as well. And we're not surprised with that. We understand the pitch gets slightly better in the second innings. It's a good learning for us. I thought it was a good score. Any pitch, any conditions when you get 180 it's a good score. We got to learn a lot today - what sort of mindset we need to have when defending a score like that. Like I said you've got to give credit to Pakistan. They've played better than us. The form is brilliant (talking about Kohli). Needed someone to bat long when the others were getting out. He batted with that tempo as well. Virat getting that score was crucial from the team's point of view. Wickets of Hardik and Rishabh was not needed at that time. But we want to play with an open mindset. While taking that approach you'll not always have success.
Winning skipper, Babar Azam said:
Our effort is to keep it simple. Ups and downs will keep happening. They got the edge the way they utilised the powerplay. But our bowlers made a comeback. Rizwan and Nawaz partnership was the turning point. I had a hunch Nawaz would be key against legspinners (on his promotion).
Player of the Match, Mohammad Nawaz said:
Want to keep things simple. Basic things like line and length. The effort is to turn one or two deliveries to put doubt in the batter's mind. Legspinners were in operation and there was one short boundary as well. Needed around 10 rpo at that time. I had clarity about going for it if it was in my area.
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