In what was a closely fought encounter, India prevailed over their bitter rivals Pakistan to kickstart their Asia Cup defence with a five-wicket victory. Chasing 148, India's top order were dismissed before the team could score 70 runs but a combined effort by all rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja ensured that the Men in Blue took the game home.
Earlier, Pandya was also effective with the ball, providing the crucial breakthrough. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikar Ahmed stitched a crucial partnership in the powerplay overs before Iftikar's knock came to an end in the 13th over. He also dismissed Rizwan, who missed out on his half-century and got out for a 42-ball 43.
But his batting was the pick of the bunch. He played a 17-ball 36 knock to take India over the line with two balls to spare. His performance earned him praise from skipper Rohit Sharma, who commended his cool demeanour, “Since Hardik's comeback to this team, he's been brilliant. Had a great IPL too. His batting qualities we all know, he has been brilliant with the bat since he came into the team. He is a lot calmer now and more confident about what he wants to do, whether it’s with the bat or with the ball.
"He can bowl really quick, we saw that today with those short balls. It was always about just understanding his game and he’s doing that well now. In a high-pressure chase with 10 runs per over needed, you can panic but he never showed any of that," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
Rohit also appreciated the work done by the Indian pacers, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar picking up four wickets, Arshdeep bagging two and Avesh scalping one, in addition to Pandya's three wickets. "The fast bowlers have done very well in the last 12 months or so. We were challenged at times but overcoming those challenges will take us forward," Rohit said.
India's next challenge will see them face Hong Kong in their Group A fixture and a win will effectively seal their place in the super 4 stage of the competition.
