Twitter Reactions: Pakistan hold their nerve against India in yet another last over thriller

Pakistan batters chased the total on the penultimate delivery of the game to level it against India.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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Pakistan Team
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Pakistan Team. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav / AFP) (Photo by SURJEET YADAV/AFP via Getty Images)

When it is India vs Pakistan, a thriller is guaranteed. And that is exactly what happened when the two teams squared off for the second time at the Asia Cup 2022 to kick start their Super Four journey of the continental tournament. But this time, it was Pakistan who had the last laugh as they celebrated a five-wicket win after putting up another final-over thriller.

Babar Azam won the toss and put India to bat first. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took a toll on Pakistan’s pace trio of Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, and Haris Rauf as the duo led India to the highest-ever powerplay total against Pakistan in the T20Is. The ball was coming onto the bat very nicely and the two were in an attacking mode from the beginning.

Just before the end of the powerplay, Haris got the breakthrough by dismissing Sharma, and KL Rahul followed him next right after the powerplay. Though for a short while, it was a Virat Kohli-Suryakumar Yadav show when the duo carried the momentum forward and went on to hit some big shots across the stadium.

The two ensured India had a good scoring rate till the halfway mark, but Yadav fell prey to Mohammad Nawaz. India faced a slip in the middle when both Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya gave away their wickets cheaply. But thereon, it was showtime for Virat Kohli. The ace batter continued his form from the previous game and went on to hit his second consecutive half-century of this tournament.

Virat Kohli was back in form, and he registered a record for the most 50+ scores in T20I history. The knock against Pakistan, at a crucial point in the game, will surely be a memorable one for him. Thanks to his composed knock, after the fiery start by Sharma and Rahul, India went on to post a defendable total of 181/7 onboard.

Pakistan batters take a toll on Indian bowlers

Pakistan, just like their previous two games, suffered a setback when Babar Azam was dismissed for a low score, again, as Ravi Bishnoi bagged his first-ever wicket at the Asia Cup. Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman covered it up for the early wicket as the duo shared a 41-run stand for the second wicket before the latter was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal.

But the Pakistan batters were unstoppable. Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz shared a brilliant 73-run stand for the third wicket as Indian bowlers struggled to break the partnership in the middle overs. India introduced the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar back into the attack and the move worked for them as he dismissed the in-form Nawaz.

Hardik Pandya, who made it possible for India when the two teams last met, had a bad day today. After being dismissed for a two-ball duck in the first innings, he conceded 35 runs in his first three overs. But he was the one who changed the face of the game when he added his first and only wicket of the game, on the final ball of his spell, by picking up Rizwan.

Just when it looked like India had the game in their pocket, a blunder by Arshdeep Singh cost India the game. Rohit Sharma was fumed, every Indian cricket fan was furious as Pakistan's middle order batters Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs in the penultimate over.

The final over became a rollercoaster ride for both the teams, as Arshdeep Singh tried to make up for his earlier mistake of dropping the catch. He had to defend 7 runs off the six deliveries, and the game came down to Pakistan needed two off the final two. But however, Pakistan managed to hold their nerves and chased down the total on the penultimate delivery to win the contest by five wickets.

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