Journalism of Courage
India vs Pakistan Asia Cup: Hardik’s all-round show helps men in blue coast to victory
1 / 15Hardik Pandya showed his high value under extreme pressure as his well-directed short balls helped India limit Pakistan to 147 all out in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday. (AP Photo)
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2 / 15Rohit Sharma decided to chase after winning the toss and the bowlers, led by Hardik, set up the game nicely for India. (AP Photo)
3 / 15Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) was at his skilful best and his four wicket haul included the prized scalp of Babar Azam (10). However, Hardik's envious figures of 3 for 25 in four overs, during the middle phase, triggered a Pakistani batting collapse. (AP Photo)
4 / 15Young seamer Arshdeep Singh also returned decent figures of 2 fo 33 in his first ever appearance in an Indo-Pak clash as all 10 wickets were snapped by speed merchants, a first for India in shortest version. (AP Photo)
5 / 15The first over of the game bowled by Bhuvneshwar was a rather eventful one as it included two DRS calls going in favour of Mohammad Rizwan (43 off 42) and a straight drive from Babar. The umpire adjudged Rizwan leg before wicket off second delivery but ball tracking showed it was going over the stumps. Four balls later the Indians thought Rizwan got a faint edge on way to the wicketkeeper but the 'ultra edge' showed a flat-line on review. (AP Photo)
6 / 15India went in with Avesh Khan as the third pace option and he struck in his opening over after Rizwan smashed him for a six and four towards the midwicket region. His fifth ball of the over was faced by left-handed Fakhar Zaman who decided to walk after edging a short and wide ball to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik who was picked ahead of Rishabh Pant for the big game. (AP Photo)
7 / 15Rizwan then shared a 45-run stand for the third wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (28 off 22) to give the innings some momentum. However, Hardik changed the course of the game removing the well set Iftikhar and Rizwan with well directed short balls --- the former edged it to Karthik and latter, not sure of what he was doing, ended up giving a regulation catch to third man. (AP Photo)
8 / 15Soon after, Hardik removed Khushdil Shah with another short ball to leave Pakistan at 97 for five in the 15th over. Number 11 Shahnawaz Dahani hammered two big sixes in the death overs to take Pakistan closer to 150. India took five wickets in the last 30 balls but also ended up conceding 45 runs. (AP Photo)
9 / 15Debutant Naseem Shah rocked India early on with a wicket in the first over. (AP Photo)
10 / 15KL Rahul was bowled off a inside edge off Naseem Shah as India were put under pressure right at the start. (AP Photo)
11 / 15It should have been straight forward chase but India's experienced top-three faltered, putting extra pressure on the middle order. Hardik (33 not out off 17) and Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 29) then shared a 52-run stand to take India on the cusp of of a famous win. (AP Photo)
12 / 15India were reduced to 89 for four with a lot riding on incoming battter Hardik and Jadeja. The southpaw stood up to the task. (AP Photo)
13 / 15Indian supporters cheer for their team during the T20 cricket match of Asia Cup between India and Pakistan, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday. (AP Photo)
14 / 15The star all-rounder's three fours off Haris Rauf off the 19th over effectively sealed the game for India. (AP Photo)
15 / 15With the team needing 6 off three balls, Hardik finished the game with a six off left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz. (AP Photo)
