India registered a 5-wicket win over Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2022 tournament opener on Sunday, August 28 in Dubai. It was a tense game that went into the last over, though India was chasing a target of only 148 runs to win.
Pakistan had been asked to bat first after Rohit Sharma won the toss and thanks to 4/26 from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and 3/25 from Hardik Pandya, Pakistan was restricted to 147 runs with Mohammad Rizwan making 43 and Iftikhar Ahmed making 28 runs.
In reply, India started off poorly losing KL Rahul for a duck and Rohit Sharma for 12. But Virat Kohli playing in his 100th T20I showed signs of returning to his old self with 35 runs.
But it was the crucial 52-run stand between Ravindra Jadeja (35) and Hardik Pandya (33*) which helped India cross the finish line in the last over.
At the start of the 18th over, the Men in Blue required 32 runs to win and Naseem Shah had seemingly delivered a massive blow to India when he trapped Jadeja LBW and the umpire agreed and raised his finger. Jadeja immediately reviewed the decision.
The replays showed that the ball had pitched marginally outside the leg-stump and this saved the India all-rounder from getting out.
Cameras caught the reactions of the Indian dressing room and Virat Kohli was seen mouthing “bach gaye” and then looking up towards the sky with a praying gesture.
Here is the moment:
India will return to action on July 31 when the side takes on Hong Kong in its second and final match of the group stage. A win here will take India into the Super 4s stage where in all likelihood, they will meet Pakistan once more.
