IND vs PAK Match Report
In order to lead India to a nail-biting victory over Pakistan with two balls remaining, Hardik Pandya broke the game open with both bat and ball. He used the short ball expertly on a pitch with a steep bounce to bowl with pace and venom, returning figures of 4-0-25-3, and limiting Pakistan to 147. Till Hardik hit three boundaries in the 19th over on a sluggish pitch, India had not really separated itself from Pakistan. Mohammad Nawaz even brought it to six needed off three in the twentieth. However, Hardik sealed it with a flat six over long-on to finish with 33 off 17.
This tiresome game was played in stifling heat and humidity. Both teams had trouble keeping pace as a result, and they both received penalties for slow over-rate. While Hardik’s wickets in the middle overs ensured that Pakistan couldn’t really take advantage of the fact that there were only four fielders in the deep instead of the usual five, he was also there to capitalize with the bat.
The cramping of two of Pakistan’s crucial death bowlers, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, made matters worse. Nawaz ended up bowling the final over because India promoted Ravindra Jadeja after the two spinners put India in a chokehold in the middle overs by both turning the ball away from right-handed batters.
Nawaz was immediately hit for a six and a four by Jadeja, forcing them to postpone his final over. The fact that India knew they still had that over meant the asking rate never reached them. As it turned out, the ball was bowled with an extra fielder in the circle.
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Pitch it Short and Hard if it does not swing
Given the history of Dubai and the presence of grass on the field, India had a good chance of winning the toss. They anticipated swing, but none materialized. Bhuvneshwar Kumar surprised Babar Azam with a bouncer while there was still seam movement available. The line was wide, which meant that Babar had to execute a brave change-up with the third and fine leg both inside the circle. He only succeeded in catching a top edge with a short, fine leg.
Avesh Khan recovered from a six and a four with another short ball that took the top edge from a Fakhar Zaman cut, just as Pakistan tried to maximize the last powerplay over. Pakistan had already lost the game when they were 43 for 2.
Mohammad Rizwan was trailing by a run for every ball because he simply couldn’t adapt to the field. He had trouble timing any of his big-hit attempts. Even though it was not his strong suit to bat against spinners, Iftikhar Ahmed still managed to score 28 runs off of 22 in a 45-run partnership.
Pakistan needed to move quickly with eight overs left in the innings. At this point, Hardik returned and began to bowl with great speed and bounce. Iftikhar took a top edge on the hook with the first ball because it was simply too high and fast for him. Rizwan and Khushdil Shah were both eliminated by Hardik with a short ball in the 15th over, bringing the score to 103 for 5.
Dahani and Rauf prepare a bowl for themselves.
Bhuvneshwar’s pinpoint knuckle balls then reduced Pakistan to 128 for 9, but Shahnawaz Dahani and Rauf still managed to score 29 runs off 13 balls combined. Dahani hit a hook to a slower bouncer and two beautiful sixes, one over long-on and the other over midwicket.
Impressive fast bowlers from Pakistan
India’s innings were off to a chaotic start. With the second ball of his T20I career, Naseem asked KL Rahul to continue playing. At the second slip, Virat Kohli was then dismissed for a duck. Edges crossed over the wicket. Rohit Sharma had the slowest powerplay of a T20I match as he kept getting outmuscled on the outside edge. While the ball continued to bounce around, Kohli played a beautiful front-foot pull-over wide mid-on and a back-foot punch in between. At 38 for 1, when the powerplay was over, Pakistan was still in the game.
India sabotage, spinners strike
Playing Kohli ahead of Rishabh Pant, the only left-handed batter in the top seven was a risky move by India. Particularly when Rohit and Kohli are batting together against spin, it becomes challenging for India. They didn’t mess around, which is some solace. They went for it, but Nawaz was skilled enough on this pitch to catch them on the boundary with the final ball of the eighth over and the first ball of the tenth.
India improvised and placed Jadeja at No. 4 between those two wickets. There are two goals behind that action. They learn how effective Jadeja can be when given more responsibility in the batting order, and they also pressure Pakistan to change. Of course, none of this would matter unless Jadeja could improve upon his dismal record against spin, which he did by using his feet to hit those boundaries against Nawaz and force Pakistan to bat out his final over.
Each side holds on.
Jadeja has since ceased taking chances. Suryakumar Yadav made an attempt, but Nasem’s seam movement flattened his off stump. Then, Hardik and Jadeja chose safe runs to see how long Pakistan could postpone Nawaz’s arrival. Particularly Hardik was competent enough to build up at a healthy rate. The bowlers started to get cramps. India practiced the art of waiting. 32 off of three overs seemed easier than it should have because even Pakistan was found to be three overs short.
Pandya overcomes Naseem’s heroics
When Naseem began the 18th, it was clear Pakistan was going to try their best bets first. However, Naseem’s cramps became debilitating. He could hardly charge in but conceded just five runs off the first four balls. He came close to getting Jadeja lbw but the batter got the decision overturned on review. The knockout blow came when Jadeja timed him over long-on for a six.
Hardik then used the extra fielder in to place his boundaries instead of muscling them. Three fours in the 19th over left India just seven to get in Nawaz’s over. In a final twist, Jadeja was bowled trying to play the slog-sweep, and it came down to six required off the last three.
Karthik has an average record against spin, so Pakistan had a chance if they could keep Hardik off the strike. To win the match for India, Hardik calmly hit a flat six over a wide long-on.
India clutched this nerve-wracking game in the last ball and relieved a lot of the fans that were watching, Pakistani fans were ecstatic when they could see that India was moving further and further away from victory until Hardik Pandya unleashed his inner beast and secured the victory.
One of the most anticipated games ended in a fashionable way and it gave great entertainment to all the viewers and fans.
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