India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in the Asia Cup match on Sunday. Hardik Pandya was the top performer for India taking 3 wickets and scoring 33 of 17 balls. This was the first match of the tournament for both India and Pakistan.
Here are the top five moments of the match:
Bye bye Babar: Babar Azam departs early
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was dismissed for 10 runs of nine balls. Going in Azam was the person expected to lead Pakistan’s batting line-up. Azam’s dismissal early on disturbed the balance in Pakistan’s batting line-up and also exposed how dependent the side is on the skipper.
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India short circuit Pakistan’s batting:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya led India’s bowling effort against Pakistan. Bhuvneshwar took 4 wickets giving 26 runs. This was the best performance of an Indian bowler against a Pakistani batting line-up. Hardik Pandya took three wickets. Pacers took all 10 wickets for the India squad Sunday.
Pakistan’s tail wags at the end:
The last wicket partnership of 19 runs could have won the match for Pakistan if all went well for them. Those 19 runs could have made all the difference if Pakistan’s bowling was a tad bit finer against India’s tall batting order.
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A Naseem-ly debut:
Naseem Shah‘s impressive debut keeps Pakistan in the game. The debutant bowler took two wickets giving only 27 runs in his four overs. He also suffered an injury in the process.
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A slow death:
Pakistan get hit by penalty at the death by bowling their overs too slow. India too were hit by a penalty and had to keep five fielders inside the circle in the last two overs. The requirement ensured Hardik Pandya leads India to 5-wicket victory.