‘Round I’ almost went the distance. Round II turned out to be a nail-biter as well. But on this occasion, it was Pakistan who prevailed. Opener Mohammad Rizwan (71) played a stellar knock and spinner all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz (42) chipped in with a wonderful cameo after being economical with the ball early on as Pakistan chased down a challenging 182-run target and recorded a five-wicket win over arch-rivals India in Sunday’s Super Fours clash of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium.
The victory margin was identical to ‘Round I’ last Sunday. The only difference this time was Pakistan taking one ball more to reach the target. Pakistan’s win proves that there is work to done by India ahead of the T20 World Cup. In such tense games, it’s important to be in charge of the nerves and not fumble, like Arshdeep Singh did on Sunday.
The youngster dropped a sitter after Asif Ali mistimed one off the bowling of Ravi Bishnoi (coming in for the unwell Avesh Khan). Arshdeep, who did his best to make amends later when he trapped Asif lbw in the final over with Pakistan still needing 2 runs for victory, had virtually dropped the match when he grassed that easy catch at short third man.
Asif, on nought when dropped, smashed a couple of boundaries and a maximum thereafter that smoothened Pakistan’s road to win. Bowling spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar, being almost flawless since last June, faltered as well under pressure.
In that key penultimate over, he kept bowling the wrong length, allowing Asif and Khushdil Shah easy strokes to concede 19 runs. That left Pakistan with only seven to get off the last six balls. They needed five balls to reach home.
The start, though, was ideal for India after they were put in. Captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took them off to a flier on a very good wicket for batting, but India lost their way as Nawaz (1/25) with his left-arm spin and leg-spinner Shadab Khan (2/31) began to apply the brakes.
Rishabh Pant (preferred over Dinesh Karthik) playing a woeful shot and Hardik Pandya departing for nought could have worsened India’s situation. However, Virat Kohli (60 off 44 balls) rose to the occasion, guiding India to 181 for 7. In reply, Pakistan had lost their captain Babar Azam early to leg-spinner Bishnoi. But promoting Nawaz, who also took the key wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, up to No.4 turned out to be a masterstroke.
He took on India’s bowlers right from the onset, while his fluency also helped wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan lift his batting to a different level altogether. Kohli’s knock could have been a deciding factor, but Rizwan and Nawaz were just too good on the day.
