'No one can doubt their temperament' - Twitter in awe as Kishan, Hardik endure all the pressure to help India post 266
India reached a respectable total in the end courtesy of the brilliant half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya.
In the third match of the Asia Cup, Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan. However, India's decision did not prove to be great as the Pakistan seamers bowled exceptionally well with the new ball.
Left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi delivered a peach of a delivery to dismiss the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, who could only manage to score 11 runs. Just one over later, Shaheen struck again, removing India's key batter Virat Kohli, as he chopped onto his stumps. India found themselves at 27 for two in the seventh over.
From the other end, Haris Rauf bowled some blistering pace and troubled the batters. Shreyas Iyer lost his wicket to Haris while attempting a pull shot, and later on, Rauf also dismissed Shubman Gill with another exceptional delivery, leaving India at 66 for four.
Ishan Kishan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya then formed a brilliant 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket. However, Ishan Kishan gave away his wicket while trying to play a pull shot off Haris Rauf, scoring 82 off 81 balls with nine fours and two sixes.
Hardik then had a brief partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, and it seemed like India would easily score more than 300 runs. However, Shaheen's double strike in the 44th over left India at 242-7 by the end of that over. He first dismissed Hardik with a brilliantly disguised slower delivery and then got the better of Jadeja in the same over as they both scored 87 and 14, respectively.
In the very next over, Naseem Shah took the wicket of Shardul Thakur, shattering India's hopes of surpassing 300 runs. A few lusty blows towards the end from Jasprit Bumrah's bat took India to a score of 266, as they were all out with seven balls to spare. For Pakistan, Shaheen took four, while Naseem and Rauf bagged three wickets each.
Now, India will aim to defend their score and start the Asia Cup opener with a victory. On the other hand, Pakistan will be looking for their second consecutive win after defeating Nepal in the tournament opener.
Here is how Twitter reacted to India's innings against Pakistan:
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