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Cricket PlayersWatch: Hardik Pandya's heart-wrenching reaction after Jadeja gets clean bowled in tense final over of IND vs PAK
Pandya put on a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who notched up 35 off 29 balls in India's Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan.
Debutant Naseem Shah had KL Rahul bowled for a golden duck before Virat Kohli tried to resurrect India's chase against Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. Kohli scored 35 from 34 balls before falling to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who also removed Rohit Sharma (12) in his previous over. But it was Hardik Pandya who took India past the finish line in a tense chase against the arch-rivals. Pandya put on a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who notched up 35 off 29 balls.
With seven required off the last six balls, Nawaz clean bowled Jadeja with the first ball before Pandya finished off the game in style. The flamboyant Baroda all-rounder had ice running through his veins in the final over but Jadeja's exit had him sitting on his haunches at the other end.
Dinesh Karthik took a single on the first ball he faced and Pandya then played a dot ball before comfortably clearing long-on with a nonchalant six, which sealed a thrilling win for India.
In the 19th over, Pandya smacked three fours off Haris Rauf and took India within touching distance of the victory. He earlier returned 3/25 in 4 overs as he put his short deliveries to good use.
After the game, Pandya said he was planning one over at a time and would have "fancied" his chances even if India needed 15 runs off the last six balls. "In a chase like this, you always plan over-by-over. I always knew that there is one young bowler (Naseem or Shahnawaz Dahani) and also one left-arm spinner (Nawaz)," he said in the post-match presentation.
"We only needed 7 off the last over but even if we needed 15, I'd have fancied myself. I know the bowler is under more pressure than me in the 20th over. I try to keep things simple," added the all-rounder.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned 4/26, got the key wickets of captain Babar Azam (10) and Fakhar Zaman (10) inside the batting powerplay, while Pandya scythed through the middle order and also removed top-scorer Mohammad Rizwan (43).
Pandya, who earlier this year made a comeback to the Indian team after recovering from a career-threatening back injury, made the match his own. He had led debutants Gujarat Titans to the IPL crown back in May.
"In bowling, it's important to assess the situations and use your weapons. For me, bowling short and hard lengths have been my strengths. It's about using them well and asking the right questions to make the batters commit a mistake," he said on his short-ball ploy.
Captain Rohit Sharma also lauded Pandya and underlined his turnaround at the biggest stage. "Since the time he has made his comeback, he's been brilliant," he said.
“He is a lot calmer now and more confident about what he wants to do, whether it's with the bat or with the ball. He can bowl really quick, we saw that today with those short balls. It was always about just understanding his game and he's doing that well now.”
