India managed to beat their bitter rivals Pakistan in their opening match of the 2022 Asia Cup, but pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar believes that the match was evenly balanced till Hardik Pandya come on for his 17-ball 36 runs cameo that inspired India to their five-wicket win in Dubai on Sunday, August 28.
Naseem Shah, who made his T20I debut and picked up KL Rahul's wicket in the first over itself, bowled his heart out with cramps. However, the partnership between Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja was too much for Pakistan, despite India's top-order collapse.
Bhuvneshwar hopes that Hardik's brilliant form stays till the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later in October-November. "After the 10 overs of our innings, it was a tight match. In those situations, the game can go either way. But the way Hardik and Jadeja batted, they played very well. But honestly, the match was 50-50.
Till the time Hardik scored runs, the match was 50-50. We were praying that Hardik scores. I can just pray that Hardik continues with his performances and he stays in this form in the World Cup as well," Bhuvneshwar said at the post-match press conference.
Bhuvneshwar further added that he was proud of the way India bowled. All 10 Pakistan wickets were taken by the Indian fast bowlers as they bundled out Pakistan for 147 runs. Bhuvneshwar took four wickets, while Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh picked up three and two wickets each. Meanwhile, Avesh Khan joined the party as he got a piece.
"Bowling first was the good option. The wicket had some grass and it was patchy, so it was not suitable for the batters. So that is why we decided to bowl first. I am very happy with the performance, not just with the wickets. Yes, when you get wickets, you feel happy to contribute, but sometimes bowling economically is also a contribution to the team's cause. The way the others bowled as well, I think it was a complete team performance," Bhuvneshwar said.
