Team India suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super-4 clash of the Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 4).
Chasing 182 to win, Pakistan got over the line in the last over. The match went down to the wire after Mohammad Rizwan (71 off 51 balls) and Mohammad Nawaz (42 off 20 balls) led the foundation with a brilliant 73-run partnership for the third wicket.
In the death overs, Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah took the matter into their hands. India were also sloppy on the field as Arshdeep Singh gave Asif a reprieve by dropping an easy catch in the 18th over and paid the price for it.
In the penultimate over, Asif and Khushdil smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs and brought the equation to 7 off 6 balls. While Arshdeep tried his best in the final and also dismissed Asif Ali on the fourth ball, Pakistan eventually overhauled the target with one delivery to spare.
After the game, veteran batter Virat Kohli, who was the top scorer for India with 44-ball 60, defended under-fire Arshdeep for dropping a sitter, saying anyone can commit mistakes under pressure.
It is pertinent to mention here that the left-arm pacer was subjected to online abuse after India's heartbreaking defeat in a nail-biter.
“Anyone can commit mistakes under pressure. It was a big game, and the situation was a bit tight,” Kohli said in the post-match press conference.
“I remember when I was playing my first Champions Trophy game against Pakistan, and I played a very poor shot off Shahid Afridi’s bowling. I kept looking at the ceiling till 5 in the morning. I was up all night and couldn’t sleep. I thought it would be the end of my career and never get another chance,” he added.
The former India skipper further stressed on the fact that one should learn from the mistakes made and be prepared for such situations in the future.
“That’s a natural feeling. But there are senior players around you. We’ll come together again for the next game. So, it’s all about learning in a good environment and when a similar situation arrives again, you look forward to it and be ready.
“I will give credit to the captain and the coach for making such an environment in which the players feel that everything is fine, and we’ll go for it next time. So, there will be mistakes but you need to accept them and learn from them so that you can be prepared to face such situations again,” Kohli said.
India will aim to return to winning ways when they face Sri Lanka in their next Super-4 clash on Tuesday (September 6).
