Hardik Pandya (33 n.o., 17b, 4x4x, 1x6) and Ravindra Jadeja (35, 29b, 2x4, 2x6) kept their cool under pressure to guide India to a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium here on Sunday.
The duo got together at 89 for four, with India chasing 148. Pakistan was on top at this stage, but the all-rounders hung around to chip away at the total. With seven needed off the last over, Jadeja lost his stumps to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz. It took a mighty six from Hardik to finish the job.
Virat Kohli’s milestone 100th T20I nearly ended in disaster, when he slashed at a full ball from Naseem Shah. Fakhar Zaman, at second slip, was a tad slow to react, and put down a tough chance. Kohli moved to 35, before a moment of indecision brought about his downfall. He danced down the track to Nawaz, but failed to get to the pitch of the ball and ended up chipping it to long-off.
Skipper Rohit Sharma looked out of sorts during his short stay at the crease. A frustrated Rohit tried to hit his way into some rhythm, but could only sky it to the fielder.
Fellow opener K.L. Rahul (0), not for the first time, got an inside edge onto his stumps.
When Suryakumar Kumar (18, 18b, 1x4) decided to attack in the face of a stiff equation, Naseem was up to the task, keeping it straight enough to castle him.
After winning the crucial toss, Rohit was quick to put Pakistan in to bat. The Indian pacers resorted to a barrage of short-pitched deliveries, which accounted for the first five wickets. Skipper and in-form batter Babar Azam was taken out in the third over, his hook off Bhuvneshwar Kumar popping up to short fine-leg.
Zaman chose to walk after getting a faint nick, even if the Indians were hesitant to appeal.
Iftikhar Ahmed’s rushed hook was taken cleanly by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, giving Hardik his first wicket.
Opener Mohammad Rizwan struggled to get going in his 42-ball innings of 43 runs. An awkward ramp shot off Hardik ended his stint.
Khushdil Shah failed to learn from the mistakes made by his teammates, going for a cut off yet another short ball from Hardik. Late on the shot, he ended up slashing it to Ravindra Jadeja at sweeper-cover.
Pakistan found itself in a hole at 97 for five. Bhuvneshwar came into the attack and barred any hopes of escape, sending back the last recognised pair of Shadab Khan and Asif Ali. Last man Shahnawaz Dahani struck a couple of sixes to give the Pakistan fans something to cheer about.
India erred with a slow over rate, which earned it the penalty of having to include an extra fielder into the circle for the last three overs. However, Pakistan, purely in survival mode at this point, failed to capitalise. On a different day, the lethargy in keeping time could have cost the Indians dearly.
Pakistan was no better, also falling three overs short of the time limit.
In a surprise move, India chose to leave out Rishabh Pant out of the eleven.
Dinesh Karthik was picked as the wicketkeeper-batter instead, perhaps as a result of his recent evolution as a clinical finisher.
The teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk) Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani
