Create
2nd Match, Group A, Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Pakistan
147/10 (19.5)
India
148/5 (19.4)
IND won by 5 wickets
Info
Fantasy
Live
Scorecard
Playing XI
Trending
player-img
Player of the Match Hardik Pandya
33(17)
3/25
Commentary
And breathe! That concludes our coverage of what was expected to be a humdinger and what eventually turned out to be one in every true sense. These two teams could well clash again in the latter stages of the tournament, which breaks for a day before returning on Tuesday as Bangladesh and Afghanistan lock horns in Sharjah. We'll have you covered as always so do return for our coverage of that contest and the rest of the Asia Cup 2022, the schedule of which you can find here. Thank you so much for tuning in - wishing you a great week ahead is the troika of Shashwat Kumar, Pratyush Rohra and Sooryanarayanan Sesha. Good night and take care!
Well then, two games in and we've seen plenty of drama in this year's Asia Cup already. You can keep up with all the action. Here are the live streaming and broadcast details!
It was quite the thriller we witnessed in Dubai. And it's a good time to dive into five key observations from India's victory over Pakistan today. Read away!👇
Right then. As far as India vs Pakistan contests go, that one lived up to the hype. It was a proper contest between the two sides with plenty of mutual respect from both sets of players, which is always great to see. India kick off their campaign with two crucial points and a win against their arch-rivals. 

As for Pakistan, they'll have plenty of positives to look at from that performance too. The seamers were excellent throughout, leaving their heart out there to try and defend a slightly under-par total. Hardik Pandya was too good for them in the end though. He looks unstoppable ever since his comeback, it must be said.
Surprise surprise! Hardik Pandya is the Player of the Match for his terrific all-round display. Here's what he has to say: While bowling my plans are pretty simple. I always do the same thing but it's important to assess the conditions and use your weapons. Hard lengths and hitting the length are my strengths but I make sure to put some doubt in the batters' minds and induce a false shot. With the bat I look to stay as calm as possible and it helps me execute my shots. If I'm calmer I know it will come my way. Some chases you plan - I started planning from the 15th over and I knew that they had a debutant and a left-arm spinner. Even if we needed 15 off the last over I would have backed myself. I try to keep my mindset as clean as possible. I know the bowler is under more pressure than me (in the last over) and I have nothing to lose. I don't think as though I fancy my chances more against spinners than fast-bowlers. I keep things simple.
Rohit Sharma (Indian captain): Through the halfway stage, we knew we were in the game. The belief was there in the group and when you have that, these things will happen often when you're not in the game and pull off something special. We know what the players can do and have confidence in their abilities. It was a challenging win. We'll take that over a one-sided win. It's all about giving them (the bowlers) confidence and making them understand the situation they're bowling in. They were challenged at times but overcoming that challenge will give them confidence going forward. (Hardik) Since the time he made his comeback, he's been great. He's been great in the IPL as well. All that matters. When he wasn't part of the team, he went back and figured out what he needs to do and went back to his fitness regime. He's clocking 140+ now, which is great for us, as is his batting. He's a lot calmer, yes, but he's also confident of what he wants to execute on the field. We saw the short balls today. A lot of hard work goes into it. It was a lot more about understanding his own game and he's done that now. When you're in a situation like that in a high-pressure game, you can panic but he showed no signs of that and took us through. 
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): I think the way we started we were 10-15 runs short. The way we came back with the ball and the way the fast-bowlers bowled was really good. The runs we scored towards the end was very useful and the way he (Dahani) did with both bat and ball was good. We wanted to take the game deep and even if we had 15 runs to play ahead of the last over it would have helped. But Hardik played really well. Naseem was injured too but the way he bowled and the heart he showed was commendable.
Ravindra Jadeja: That is what we were looking to do. We know that their fast bowlers are accurate and weren't giving loose balls, so we had to play good shots. (On his dismissal) I could have finished the game with the match-up against the left-armer but unfortunately, that didn't happen. (On Pandya's knock) Hardik played superbly. He was very clear from the time he came in. He said he's going to keep playing his shots and I just made sure to give him strike as much as possible. 
India 148/5 (19.4) beat Pakistan 147 all out (19.5) by 5 wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja 35 (29) | Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/26 (4)
Mohammad Rizwan 43 (42) | Mohammad Nawaz 3/33 (3.4)

The match summary won't reflect one name who stood out for India with his all-round performance. Most of all, it won't display the nerves of steel he showed when it mattered the most. Hardik Pandya - that's the name of arguably, India's most valuable player in white-ball cricket at present.

A chase of 148 wasn't going to be straightforward on a tricky surface. The challenge was compounded once India lost KL Rahul off the second delivery and so nearly saw Virat Kohli depart a couple of deliveries later, with a shelled opportunity at slip handing the former skipper a lifeline.

Naseem Shah was breathing fire on debut and both Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma struggled to middle the ball initially. The former took off though, with a whip over mid-wicket showing signs of vintage 'King Kohli' stepping up when it mattered. It was a struggle of the highest order though for Rohit and the asking rate crept up when both batters failed to get a move on against spin. And within no time, Mohammad Nawaz landed a double-whammy that sent both of India's seniormost batters packing.

Ravindra Jadeja was surprisingly pushed up to number 4 to take down spin and he started off in impressive fashion. But then, he too, failed to add a new gear to his innings and if anything, lowered it by a few notches against the hard lengths bowled by Naseem and Shahnawaz Dahani. Suryakumar Yadav endured a rusty stay and his off-stump was sent cartwheeling, throwing the game up in the air for grabs.

There were nerves of the highest order. Of the kind once associated with a classic India-Pakistan duel. And it came down to the quintessential 'who handles pressure better' with Hardik Pandya coming up trumps in that regard. The asking rate was in double-digits, but just when it mattered, he managed to find the fence in the penultimate over to swing the game back in India's favor after a period of lull where singles and twos were all they could manage.

Jadeja wasn't there to finish it and it came down to 6 needed off the last three deliveries. Fittingly, it was Pandya who sealed it with a clean swing over wide long on, drawing the curtains down on a classic for the ages. Phew! Stick around for the presentations while you're catching your breath!
Nerves. Of. Steel. Hardik Pandya, cool as you'd like! No extravagant celebrations. No crazy roar. Just punching the air to remain calm and shake hands with the opponents. And now he holds his bat up to take in the applause. Take it in, Hardik. Let it all sink in. This is your moment! India win by 6 wickets to open their tournament with a win! A "paisa vasool" contest that had everything you'd want as a neutral. This one certainly lived up to the hype! 
19.4 Mohammad Nawaz to Hardik Pandya, SIX! THAT WILL BE THAT! PANDYA FINISHES IT OFF IN STYLE! Marginally short on middle and leg stump, and that is just what Pandya is waiting for. He winds up, opens up his stance and clatters it over long on to seal the deal for India! What a clutch knock this has been from arguably India's most valuable T20I player!
Dot ball! It's just not a game between bat and ball anymore. It's a battle of nerves now. 
19.3 Mohammad Nawaz to Hardik Pandya, back of a length delivery on middle and leg stump. Pandya backs away and drills it straight to the man in the ring at extra cover. No run taken!
Hardik Pandya to finish things off in style? You wouldn't bet against it! 
19.2 Mohammad Nawaz to Dinesh Karthik, back of a length delivery on leg stump. Karthik sits back in his crease and heaves it away towards deep backward square leg for a single
Dinesh Karthik, RHB, comes to the crease
Hold your horses! Is there a twist in the tale? A needless swipe from Jadeja perhaps. He wanted to finish it off in style.