In their first Super-4 match of the Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan defeated India by five wickets in Dubai on Sunday (September 4), moving one step closer to the finals.
Virat Kohli’s dazzling half-century (60 off 44 balls) which was also his second consecutive and Rohit Sharma’s fiery innings at the top (28 off 16 balls) took India’s total to 181/7.
However, Babar Azam and his men chased down this target with a ball to spare owing to Mohammad Rizwan’s 51-ball 71 and Mohammad Nawaz’s explosive knock (42 off 20 balls).
In an interview after the victory, Rizwan stated that it is always crucial for players to perform in what is seen as cricket's biggest rivalry since people from all over the world are watching it.
"It is always a special match when India and Pakistan play. Not just people in Pakistan and India, but people from all over the world are watching and that is what makes the occasion special. The value of an India vs Pakistan match is that of a final and players try hard to do well in this match.
"Pakistan has won today and there is no feeling like it," Rizwan said after the match.
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He said further that he wanted to do what Hardik Pandya did for the Men in Blue in the last encounter between the two teams and take full advantage of loose balls.
"Me and the captain planned to target the new bowlers, score runs against the new ball and one amongst us plays a long innings. Like Pandya said in the last match, he was trying to be easy. I was also trying to be easy. I tried to take advantage of any loose bowling.
"We knew that our batting depth and power-hitting gives us the confidence that we can hit 45-48 in the last four overs. There was not much panic," he added.
Rohit Sharma and company will next take on Sri Lanka on Tuesday (September 06) at the same venue.
(NDTV INPUTS)
