Dubai, Sep 4 . A tactically superior Pakistan caught India completely off-guard with a Mohammed Nawaz punt as they exacted sweet revenge with a five wicket victory in an exciting Super 4 game of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Chasing a tough target of 182, the ever dependable Mohammed Rizwan (71 off 51 balls) anchored the Pakistan innings but it was left-handed batter Nawaz, known more for his orthodox left-arm spin, who played the decisive knock of the match. His 42 off 20 balls was something that India didn't factor in and there was no gameplan for him as Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ali completed a deserving victory with a ball to spare.
17th over:
A massive wicket for India. Mohammad Rizwan is out after a brilliant 71 from 51 balls.
Ball by ball: 1 4 2 0 Wd W 1
Runs scored: 9
16th over:
A swashbuckling innings by Mohammad Nawaz (42 from 20 balls) who fell to experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar. An outstanding over by Kumar. Will this turn the tides towards India's favour? Rizwan still on the crease.
Ball by ball: 1 0 W 1 0 2
Runs scored: 4
15th over:
Ball by ball: 4 4 1 4 2 1
Runs scored: 16
14th over:
Nawaz, perhaps, is on his way to a match-winning innings. A brilliant four through the covers. Hardik has been expensive so far. A big over Pakistan have been looking for.
Ball by ball: 2 1 4 0 4 1
Runs scored: 12
13th over:
100 up for Pakistan and half-century for Rizwan, a fine innings. India will need to take more wickets as Pakistan is cruising well at the moment. Nawaz has changed the complexion of the game. An expensive over by Arshdeep.
Ball by ball: 2 2 1 4 L1 1
Runs scored: 11
12th over:
Mohammad Nawaz has been going all guns blazing. A sky-rocketing six off Bishnoi. Pakistan are upping their run-rate in what could be another nail-biting contest.
Ball by ball: 1 1 6 1 0 1
Runs scored: 10
11th over:
Ball by ball: 6 0 1 1 2 0
Runs scored: 10
10th over:
Halfway through the innings and India are well in control of the match. Hardik did concede a six but came back well.
Ball by ball: 1 6 0 1 0 1
Runs scored: 9
9th over:
After conceding a boundary, Chahal dismisses dangerous Fakhar Zaman (15 from 18 balls). Situation going downhill for Pakistan with the run-rate climbing. Boundary on the last ball of the over.
Ball by ball: 1 1 4 W 0 4
Runs scored: 10
8th over:
A brilliant over by Ravi Bishnoi. His speed of the deliveries is not allowing Pakistan batters to get underneath the ball and go for the big ones. India have the control thus far and Pakistan need to kick on now.
Ball by ball: 1 1 1 1 L1 1
Runs scored: 6
7th over:
Ball by ball: 1 0 1 4 1 0
Runs scored: 7
6th over:
Rizwan smashes Arshdeep for a brilliant six over mid-off. But Arshdeep did well to keep the flow of runs under control.
Ball by ball: 0 1 6 1 0 0
Runs scored: 8
5th over:
Hardik Pandya has been introduced in the bowling attack. The first expensive over where three boundaries that came off Zaman and Rizwan. Pakistan should look to consolidate their innings now and score some quick runs to get the innings going.
Ball by ball: 4 1 0 4 1 4
Runs scored: 14
4th over:
The mighty Babar Azam is gone. Ravi Bishnoi takes his first wicket. India are off to a flier.
Ball by ball: 1 2 0 W 0 0
Runs scored: 3
3rd over:
A disciplined bowling so far with immaculate line and length from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India right on the money and have kept Pakistani batters silent so far. Just a brilliant last ball boundary by Azam.
Ball by ball: 1 0 0 1 2 4
Runs scored: 8
2nd over:
Arshdeep Singh opens the bowling along with an experienced Bhuvneshwar. And the youngster bowls well, not giving any room for runs and keeps it simple in the end. Just two runs coming from it.
Ball by ball: 0 0 1 1 0 0
Runs scored: 2
1st over:
Two boundaries by Pakistan. 9 runs of the over, a good start by the openers.
Ball by ball: 4 0 1 0 4 0
Runs scored: 9
Innings break...
20th over:
Virat Kohli scored a valuable 60 from 44 balls. Virat tried hard but Rauf bowled his heart out. After a wide, first three balls were dot deliveries as Kohli tried hard to score runs. He was dismissed on the fourth delivery. India in the end got what they wanted with two boundaries scored by Ravi Bishnoi, thanks to miss-fields by Pakistani fielders. India finishes off at 181-7 in 20 overs.
Ball by ball: Wd 0 0 0 W1 4 4
Runs scored: 10
19th over:
Hooda (16 runs off 14 balls) is out! Naseem Shah took his wicket.
Ball by ball: 1 2 1 W 2 1
Runs scored: 7
Ball by ball: Wd 2 2 4 1 0 6
Runs scored: 16
18th over:
Hooda has been throwing his bat all over but couldn't get a boundary on the first two balls, legal balls after a wide. But the wait was worth it as Hooda arches back to hit it over third man for a four. Virat is elated! And why not? He scored his half-century with a superb six.
Ball by ball: Wd 2 2 4 1 0 6
Runs scored: 16
17th over:
A beautiful shot, inside out, by Hooda for a boundary. India would look to go big guns now as the run-rate has slowed down considerably.
Ball by ball: 1 0 4 1 0 2
Runs scored: 8
16th over:
Over dealt in singles.
Ball by ball: 2 1 1 1 0 0
Runs scored: 5
15th over:
In-form batter Hardik Pandya is out without opening his score. He faced two balls. Brilliant cross seam delivery by Mohammad Hasnain. India are losing wickets at crucial stage. Deepak Hooda on the crease now.
Ball by ball: 2 2 1 W B4 0
Runs scored: 9
14th over:
Rishabh Pant is out after struggling on his way to 14 runs. Spinner Shadab Khan takes the wicket and has kept the Indian batters restricted so far even for runs. This brings Hardik Pandya at the crease.
Ball by ball: Wd 1 1 1 4 W 0
Runs scored: 8
13th over:
Virat comes down the pitch to score his trademark cover drive off Naseem Shah. There is nothing more beautiful in world cricket than seeing the sight of a boundary coming off Kohli's blade in that region. Pant too joined the party with a boundary on the on side.
Ball by ball: 4 2 1 4 1 1
Runs scored: 13
12th over:
India at 105/3 after 12 overs.
Ball by ball: 1 1 1 1 0 0
Runs scored: 4
Food for thought!
This is the fastest hundred India have scored against Pakistan in a T20 contest.
11th over:
100 comes up for India. After being saved from a run-out, Kohli punished the second ball of Mohammad Hasnain through a pull shot to backward square leg for four.
Ball by ball: 0 4 1 0 Wd Wd 1 0
Runs scored: 8
10th over:
Pakistan have got rid of India's best T20 batsman, Suryakumar Yadav 13 (10). He tried to sweep the ball for a six but was caught at mid-off. This brings Rishabh Pant on the crease, who, being left-hander, is better equipped to deal with the spinners.
Ball by ball: 1 1 1 W 1 1
Runs scored: 5
9th over:
A miss-field by Pakistan brings four for Kohli and India. The rest of it were dealt with singles.
Ball by ball: 1 1 4 1 1 1
Runs scored: 9
8th over:
A lofted cover drive for four by Suryakumar on the first ball of Nawaz.
Ball by ball: 4 1 0 0 2 1
Runs scored: 8
7th over:
KL Rahul 28(20) dismissed by Shadab Khan. Rahul has signaled to have come back in form. This brings Suryakumar Yadav on the crease who cuts the first delivery for four. Virat Kohli finishes of the over with a brilliant four off the back foot.
Ball by ball: W 4 0 0 1 4
Runs scored: 9
6th over:
Rohit Sharma 28 (16) is gone, Pakistan takes the first Indian wicket. Haris Rauf dismisses Sharma, who tried to go for a biggie but miscues it completely.
Ball by ball: W 1 Wd5 1 0 0 1
Runs scored: 8
5th over:
A good move by Pakistan to introduce spinner in a bid to slow down the run-rate. KL steps down to dispatch Nawaz's delivery for four.
Ball by ball: 0 4 0 1 1 2
Runs scored: 8
4th over:
Sheer brilliance from the captain as he goes for four the very first ball and hooks the next one for a glamorous six. India is bombarding runs here.
Ball by ball: 4 6 1 1 0 0
Runs scored: 12
3rd over:
India are going ballistic. A slower one by Naseem Shah and Rahul dispatches the first ball for a six and finishes off spectacularly with a helicopter shot that went for a maximum. Rahul showing glimpses of returning form.
Ball by ball: 6 1 0 1 0 6
Runs scored: 14
2nd over:
Another four on the mid-off coming from the full blade of Sharma. The captain is looking to accelerate India's innings early.
Ball by ball: 1 0 4 1 2 1
Runs scored: 9
1st Over:
O Captain! my Captain! A brilliant four on the off side to start off followed it up by a maximum in the last ball of the over off
Naseem Shah. A great start for India and the skipper.
Ball by ball: 0 1 0 4 0 6
Runs scored: 11
Dubai: Pakistan won the toss on Sunday and elected to bowl against India here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the Asia Cup Super Four match.
The Captains:
Rohit Sharma: We would have bowled first, but now we need to play freely and assess a good score on this pitch. Momentum counts in this format, you've to be on the money from the start, not worry about external pressures. Injury is something we can't control, Jadeja has been ruled out and he's back home. It was a headache to select the playing XI - Hardik comes back. Deepak Hooda gets a game and so does Ravi Bishnoi.
Babar Azam: We will bowl first. The dew could be a factor, that's the reason we're bowling first. We had a lot of positives from the last match against India. The message is to play positively - one change for us with Hasnain coming in.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah
