Pakistan pulled off a spectacular five wicket win against India with only one ball to spare in their second Asia Cup 2022 meeting in just a week. The win puts Pakistan in an advantageous position in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four and will face Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in their remaining matches. India, too, will take on the other two nations but will need to win both to stay in contention for the final.
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Left-arm spin all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz played a decisive role, conceding only 25 runs while taking the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav in a tight spell that slowed India’s innings after Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s fiery 54-run opening stand.
Finding his groove, Virat Kohli top-scored with 60 off 44 balls, hitting four fours and a six, and was destructive against the pacers.
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Chasing a competitive total of 182, Mohammad Rizwan led the chase with a 51-ball 71. The decision to promote Nawaz to four paid huge dividends as he struck 42 off only 20 balls, including six fours and two sixes, changing the course of the game.
With 26 runs needed from the last two overs, Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali battered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs in the 19th over. Arshdeep Singh bowled a tight last over, picking up a wicket, and bringing down the equation to two runs off two balls. However, Iftikhar Ahmed sealed the match for Pakistan.
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Earlier, Sharma and Rahul provided India a blistering start to their innings, hitting eight boundaries to fifty on the board in just 4.2 overs. It was Haris Rauf who broke the opening stand in the final over of the powerplay, as Sharma mishit a slower ball to point.
India would have felt they were 5-7 runs short despite posting a competitive 181/7. India managed to get back-to-back fours in the final over, taking the total to just beyond 180.
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