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India took revenge for their big loss against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup with a convincing five-wicket victory over their bitter rivals in Dubai on Sunday, August 28. It was a closely fought affair that could have gone either way, but a lovely partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya helped India chase down a total of 148 runs despite their top order collapse.
There were many positives that Pakistan could that from the match, and many negatives as well. Here, we look at five different reasons for the Men in Green's defeat to the Men in Blue to kick off their Asia Cup campaign.
Hardik Pandya's return to form
After suffering from back injuries that curtailed his form for almost four years, Pandya has redeemed himself for India with his Man of the Match performance against Pakistan. He took the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikar Ahmed to end their dangerous looking partnership before wrapping up his bowling with the wicket of Khushdil Shah. With the bat, Pandya's knock of 33 runs from 17 balls was enough to help India chase down Pakistan's meagre total with two balls to spare.
Lack of specialist finisher after injuries to Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Pakistan's bowling unit has been riding on the talent of Shaheen Afridi for the last few years and his knee injury ahead of the 2022 Asia Cup was a massive blow for Pakistan. They were dealt further bad news after another pacer in Mohammad Wasim Jr. suffered a back injury ahead of the Asia Cup and this paved the way for teenager Naseem Shah's T20I debut. He was among their better bowlers on the night but other than Mohammad Nawaz, who was left to defend seven runs in the final over, the other Pakistan bowlers failed as they conceded 51 runs in the final five overs.
Star Pakistani batters failed
The Pakistani batters have received a lot of praise in the last few months. Leading the line is the opener and skipper Babar Azam, but on the night, he failed to deliver, scoring just 10 runs for his team. But Babar was not alone among the list of underperforming batters against India on the might. Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan were also dismissed for 10 runs each, while hard-hitting batter Asif Ali also fell cheaply for nine runs. On their day, these batters would have definitely given the Indian bowlers the runaround.
Pacers nailed their bouncers vs Pakistan
Pandya, along with Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, blasted the Pakistan batters with bouncers that kept them at bay and also got crucial wickets. Bhuvneshwar picked up four wickets, Arshdeep bagged two and Avesh scalped one, in addition to Pandya's three wickets. The Men in Blue took five wickets in the last 30 balls but also ended up conceding 45 runs.
India's middle order came well under pressure
Once among the most feared top order in world cricket, the trio of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli once again came under the microscope after a subpar display. The only player who can be spared in this trio is Kohli, who is working hard to get over his lean patch and contributed slightly to the run chase with a 34-ball 35. But Rohit fell cheaply for just 12 runs while Rahul was dismissed for a golden duck by debutant Naseem Shah in what can be construed as a top order collapse while chasing a mediocre total.
But the form of their all-rounders Jadeja and Pandya rescued the game for India. The duo built a partnership of 52 runs from 29 balls before Jadeja was dismissed for 35 runs off 29 balls. Suryakumar Yadav also contributed with a gritty run-a-ball 18.
