The much-anticipated India vs Pakistan contest at the Asia Cup 2022 produced a last-over thriller. India chased down 148 with two deliveries to spare to start their campaign on a winning note.
It wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on with Rohit Sharma opting to bowl first and India bowling out Pakistan for 147 in 19.5 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked four wickets while Hardik Pandya picked three wickets.
ASIA CUP 2022: FULL COVERAGE | SCHEDULE | RESULTS
India had to fight their way towards reaching the target with the pair of Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja adding 52 runs for the fifth wicket after the defending champions were reduced to 89/4 in 14.2 overs.
Legendary allrounder and world cup winning captain Kapil Dev praised the quality of cricket that was put on display by either side.
“I can only say cricket won, it’s not India-Pakistan. Match was really fantastic. I think both teams played so well. Team which wins gets much more joy while those who lose can say that they will try next time. That’s what sport is about,” Kapil told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
India captain Rohit Sharma admitted that the chase turned out to be a challenging one but said he prefers victories like these over one-sided contests.
“Halfway through the chase, we still knew that we can win irrespective of the situation. 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,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.
Allrounder Pandya was chosen as player-of-the-match for taking 3/25 and then hitting an unbeaten 33 off 17 to take India over the line.
India will resume their campaign on Wednesday when they face Hong Kong at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here