The much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan turned out to be a final over thriller. Though it was a low-scoring game, it was highly entertaining. Hardik Pandya’s all-round performance helped India in chasing 148 runs in 19.4 overs and win the match by 5 wickets.
India lost the wicket of opener KL Rahul right in the first over of the chase. Later, Virat Kohli (35) and Rohit Sharma (12) settled the innings. But once they got out, India lost steam for a while. Even Surya Kumar Yadav went back to the pavilion without scoring many runs. Then, Ravindra Jadeja (35) and Hardik Pandya (33* off 17 balls) took the responsibility for the chase and made a partnership of 52 runs. Though Jadeja got out in the backend of the innings, Pandya finished the game along with Dinesh Karthik with two balls to spare. Debutant Naseem Shah impressed with the ball for Pakistan(2/27).
On the flip side, Pakistan didn’t get an ideal start while batting first as its star batter Babar Azam got out early. Another star player Fakhar Zaman also went back to the pavilion without scoring big. Mohammed Rizwan (43) got good support from Iftikhar Ahmed (28) for a while. They both made a partnership of 45 runs for the third wicket. Once they got out, Pak never recovered. Finally, it got all-out for 147 runs in 19.5 overs. Bhuvi scalped four wickets (4/26) and Hardik Pandya (3/25) got three wickets.
India will play its next match against Hong Kong on August 31.
