The high-octane drama between arch-rivals India and Pakistan got even more dramatic as the 'mother of all battles' unfolded on the second day of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.
After opting to bowl first, India rode on brilliant spells from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya to keep Pakistan's batters in check as the Babar Azam-led side was restricted to just 147. But little did India know what was coming their way. India got off to a shaky start as they lost the their vice captain KL Rahul in the very first over on a golden duck.
Virat walked in next to pair up with Rohit Sharma and bolster India's innings and he did exactly the same. Although, initially he was struggling to middle the bowl but gradually found his mojo back. But yet again couldn't hold on for long and failed to convert a good start and was sent to pavilion on 35 off 34 balls.
After dismissing Rahul, Naseem Shah nearly had two wickets in his first over as he found the edge of Virat Kohli's bat. Kohli went for an expansive drive in the second delivery he faced but the prolific swing from Naseem forced a thick outside edge.
However, Kohli was fortunate as Fakhar Zaman, who was standing at second slip, could not hang onto the catch as he made a dive to dent India's chase.
It was a fine spell of new-ball bowling from young Naseen and Shahnawaz Dahani as Virat Kohli and captain Rohit were cautious in the first 3 overs.
The India-Pakistan's match marked Kohli's 100th T20I match and with this he became the first Indian player to complete a century of International appearance in all the three formats of the game.
Earlier in the day, Mohammad Rizwan hit a steady 43 but Pakistan managed just 147 as they failed to negotiate the barrage of bouncers from the Indian pacers. It was the first time pacers took all 10 wickets for India in a T20I match as Bhuvneshwar and Hardik led the show with 7 wickets between them.
Young Arshdeep Singh picked up 2 wickets while Avesh Khan, who was picked up as the third pacer, chipped in with one wicket.
