The second round of the most heated battle of cricket ended up in Pakistan’s favor in the ongoing Asia Cup as they beat India by 5 wickets in yet another nail-biting last-over encounter.
Mohammad Rizwan put up his power-packed performance on display showcasing why he is one of the most successful batters in the T20Is with 71 off 51.
But the show was eventually sealed by Mohammad Nawaz with his quick-fire 42 off 20 including 6 boundaries and a couple of maximums.
India had paid the price of its inexperienced bowling line-up besides Bhuvneshwar and Chahal failed to put on their show with each conceding runs at an economy of more than 10.
Virat Kohli seemed in some fine touch against Pakistan today after playing a much-needed knock of 60 that helped India post a decent total of 181 losing 7 wickets.
The rest of the Indian batters struggled even after a blistering start from the openers as the hero of India’s first match in the ongoing Asia Cup Hardik Pandya departed on a duck.
Ahead of India’s encounter against Pakistan India suffered a loss in the form of Ravindra Jadeja as the star all-rounder not just missed today’s match rather is ruled out for the rest of the Asia cup and the upcoming T20 world cup scheduled in Australia later this year.
Avesh Khan also missed out on today’s match due to an injury paving way for young Ravi Bishnoi who was the best on India’s outing today conceding just 26 of four overs and a big wicket of Pakistani captain Babar Azam.
India faces Sri Lanka on Tuesday in its penultimate match of the super four which is a must-win for the Asian giant to keep its hope alive in the tournament.
An experienced Ravindra Jadeja’s departure and lackluster bowling line-up has left captain Rohit Sharma and team management to ponder how the team will carry forward its momentum in the rest of the tournament.
How India will carry forward its show will be a delightful watch ahead as the defending champion will look forward to retaining its reputation as the best in Asia.