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Asia Cup 2022 India vs Pakistan: Hardik guides India over finish line in last over thriller

With this win, team India are off the mark in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup.

In the second match of the Asia Cup 2022, India defeated Pakistan by five wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, UAE.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. Looking at the conditions it was the right thing to do as the pitch looked slow and had bounce in it. Moreover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya were at their best with the ball as they helped the team to clean up Pakistan for just 147 runs in 19.5 overs.

While chasing, Rohit Sharma (12) and KL Rahul had a rocky start, with the latter batsman being played on in the second delivery. Then it was Virat Kohli (35) who kept the scoreboard ticking along with Rohit. This inning could be Kohli’s return to form, as the no.18 batter hit some quality shots throughout. After losing out both the batsmen, Ravindra Jadeja (35) took the charge of the inning and led the Men in Blue close to the target. Along with him, Hardik Pandya (33*) contributed significantly by scoring the winning runs in the final over. The confident Pandya hammered four fours and one match-winning six to seal the game by five wickets.

In the first inning, the Men in Green looked good in the initial overs but they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals which made it difficult for the Babar Azam-led side to achieve a huge total. Although Mohammad Rizwan (43) scored valuable runs at the start, no other batter could score anywhere around the same. Iftikhar Ahmed (28) also got a few runs under his best but it was number 11 batsman Shahnawaz Dahani (17) who slammed two sixes towards the end to take Pakistan to a respectable score of 147/10.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was once again incredible against Pakistan as he scalped four wickets. Pandya also grabbed three wickets with the help of some powerful bouncers. Along with them, Arshdeep Singh got two wickets and Avesh Khan picked one wicket.

On the other hand, for Pakistan, it was Mohammad Nawaz, who claimed three wickets in the second inning. Debutant Naseem Shah also troubled the Indian batsman and got two wickets to his name.

Hardik Pandya was adjudged Man of the Match for his excellent all-round performance. With this win, team India are off the mark in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup.

Scorecard:

Pakistan: 147/10, Mohammad Rizwan 43, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/26

India: 148/5, Ravindra Jadeja 35, Mohammad Nawaz 3/33

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