Asia Cup 2022: Hardik Pandya avenges 2021 WC loss as India nail Pakistan by 5 wickets

India prevailed over arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling group match in Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium by winning by five wickets to go to the top of Group A.

Ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya excelled with both bat and ball as he took three wickets and blasted an unbeaten 33 off just 17 balls as India overhauled the target of 148 with two balls to spare. India had a shocking start to the chase as they lost KL Rahul for nought in the very first over. Sharma (12 off 18) and Virat Kohli (35 off 34) put up 49 runs for the second wicket but both departed in close succession. India were reduced to 89 for 4 in the 15th over when Suryakumar Yadav was castled by debutant Naseem Shah but then Pandya came together with Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 29) to add crucial 52 runs for the fifth wicket.

Pandya was chosen as the player of the match.

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Among the Pakistan bowlers, spinner Mohammad Nawaz was the most successful with three wickets for 33 runs. Shah took the other two.

Earlier, the defending champions bowled out Pakistan for 147 runs in 19.5 overs after captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and asked Babar Azam's side to bat first.

For Pakistan, wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was the top scorer with 43 in 42 balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most successful among the Indian bowlers with four wickets for 26 runs.

It was India's highest successful run chase against Pakistan in the format.

Brief scores: India 148 for 5 in 19.4 overs beat Pakistan 147 all out in 19.5 overs by 5 wickets.