Rohit Sharma-led India avenged the defeat of the T20 World Cup 2021 in a nerve-wracking thriller at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Hardik Pandya kept his cool and finished the game with a six-off fourth delivery of the final over to help India win the game by five wickets. Pandya's calm demeanor restored normalcy in India vs Pakistan T20I clashes after the aberration last year.
Faulty start
Chasing 148, India lost KL Rahul off the first ball he faced. Debutant Naseem Shah got his wicket off the second ball of the over as Rahul could manage just an inside edge. Naseem also forced an outside edge off Virat Kohli's bat but Fakhar Zaman dropped it in the slip cordon.
Two quick wickets
Rohit struggled to rotate the strike while Kohli played himself in. Kohli got a few lucky boundaries. On the other hand, Rohit could hit just one six till the eighth over and then target Mohammad Nawaz. Rohit could just loft it straight to Iftikhar Ahmed as it ended his trouble staying at the crease. In the next over, Kohli made the same mistake and got out for a 34-ball 35 to the left-arm spinner.
Jadeja’s promotion
Promoted up the order, Ravindra Jadeja got India back in the game. However, Suryakumar Yadav could not break free and got out for a run-a-ball 18. Naseem came back into the attack and got Suryakumar's wicket. Meanwhile, Pandya took the pressure off Jadeja with a few timely boundaries. Naseem got the wicket but cramps got the better of him. He bowled a loose delivery and got hit it for a six by set batter Jadeja.
Pandya finishes it off
In the penultimate over, Pandya took on Rauf and got a couple of boundaries. He made the equation easier in the final over. Nawaz needed to defend seven runs and he started off with the wicket of Jadeja. The southpaw got out for a 29-ball 35. Designated finisher Dinesh Karthik took a single off the first ball and got Pandya on the strike. Pandya played a dot ball but did not panic. He followed it up with a six to finish off the run chase. The all-rounder remained unbeaten for 17-ball 36 and took India over the line.
Babar falls early
After losing the toss, Pakistan got off to a nervous start. Skipper Babar could not make a mark this time and got out to the well-directed bouncer by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Babar managed to score just 10 runs before losing his wicket. Zaman started off well with two boundaries but became victim to Avesh Khan in the final over of the powerplay overs. The faint edge carried to Dinesh Karthik but Zaman walked back to the dressing room without the umpire raising his finger.
Pandya’s double blow
Mohammad Rizwan and Ahmed stitched a crucial partnership in the powerplay overs. Iftikar changed gears and looked for big hits. His knock came to an end in the 13th over as Pandya provided the crucial breakthrough. Iftikhar scored 28 runs from 22 deliveries including two fours and one six. Pandya got another big wicket in his next over. Rizwan missed his half-century and got out for a 42-ball 43. The wicketkeeper-batter hit four fours and one six in his innings.
Wickets tumble
In the same over, Khushdil Shah succumbed to the dot ball pressure and got out after scoring just two runs from seven balls. In the slog overs, Bhuvneshwar got rid of dangerous Asif Ali who got out for a single-digit score. From the other end, Arshdeep Singh got Mohammad Nawaz's wicket.
In the penultimate over, Bhuvneshwar got two wickets off two deliveries. Shadab and Naseem became Bhuvneshwar's victim as he registered best bowling figures for an Indian bowler against Pakistan in the format. Dahani not just blocked out the hat-trick delivery but got some crucial runs towards the end. The tailender hit two sixes in the 6-ball 16 to help Pakistan post 147 in 19.5 overs. On the other end, Rauf remained unbeaten for 7-ball 13. The 147-run total is also Pakistan’s highest against India in T20Is while batting first.
