Asia Cup 2022: Super Four: India vs Pakistan - Turning Point of the match

One would fall short of words if asked to describe the game between India and Pakistan, because the two teams always manage to put forth a thriller and that is exactly what happened on Sunday evening when they locked horns at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to kick start their Asia Cup 2022 Super Four stage. Though India had won the first encounter, Pakistan triumphed this time in an epic rollercoaster.

India batters were dominant throughout the first innings, even though there were a couple of wickets that fell cheaply. Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda failed to fire, but some quick contributions by them after the thrilling start by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul kept India on track.

It was Virat Kohli, who handled India's innings almost till the end as he went on to score a 44-ball 60-run knock before being dismissed. India's newly found approach of attacking with the bat worked for them well as the Men in Blue posted 181/7. All the drama happened in the second innings when Pakistan came out to chase.

Mohammad Nawaz grabs the spotlight

The Pakistan batters were on fire from the word go as they took a toll on Indian bowlers, and Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal were the picks of the day. Pandya, who won the game for India when the two teams clashed last week, went on to concede 44 runs in his four-over spell. On the other hand, Chahal gave away 43 runs as the two managed to pick just one wicket.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the veteran also conceded 40 runs while picking just a wicket. As the Indian bowlers made the mistakes, Pakistan batters seized every opportunity. Starting with Mohammad Rizwan who scored a brilliant 71(51) and added a chunk of runs during the chase, the middle-order batters were the highlight for Pakistan's innings.

Mohammad Nawaz was promoted up the order and he stood up to the expectations, smashing 42 runs off just 20 deliveries. His knock added pressure on India and changed the course of the game. After Rizwan and Nawaz's wickets, it looked like India had the game in their bag but a huge blunder by Arshdeep Singh cost India the game. Arshdeep dropped Asif Ali in the 18th over off Ravi Bishnoi's delivery and the game turned thereon.

Asif Ali then capitalized on the extra life that he was given, and hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a couple of boundaries in the next over. Arshdeep eventually had the last laugh when he dismissed Asif Ali in the last over, and the game came down to Pakistan needing two runs off the final two deliveries. The batters held their nerves as Iftikhar Ahmed scored the final two runs and Pakistan won the contest by five wickets.