We generally do not do match reviews after the match but do articles previewing the match but the cricket match that we will be talking about here is not some ordinary cricket match. It was a match that was watched by over a billion people and every ball was monitored closely and the match itself was an absolute cracker which was missing for a lot of years in these big clashes. That’s why I thought that for this match I should do a review as well.
Before we talk about this great cricket match that we had I have to talk about the excitement leading into it and how these matches generate more buzz than any other cricket match in the world and it can compete with the other big games in various other sports. The viewership for this 1 match is crazy and we might get to see it at least 1 more time next Sunday if not 2 in the next 2 weeks. Let’s review the match now.
India wins the toss and the powerplay
The moment India won the toss in this match they had gotten a slight edge because batting second was a bit easier but there was no dew. India followed it very well with the ball in the first 6 overs as they did not allow Pakistan to hit a lot I’d runs and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the big wicket of Babar Azam and that was a huge blow. After a few overs Fakhar Zaman also got out and Pakistan were in a bit of trouble with 2 wickets down.
India picking Wickets regularly in middle overs
The taking of wickets did not stop as Hardik Pandya came in his element as he bowled a lot of short balls which resulted in 3 wickets for the star all rounder. He got Mohammad Rizwan first then he got the wicket of Khushdil Shah as well. Hardik was bowling his heart out and him bowling 4 overs is such a win for India. At the other end Yuzvendra Chahal and Jadeja were not giving a lot of runs so the pressure was building.
Pakistan reach 147 with help from Dahani
Then came the death overs and it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was at his best bowling the slower balls and taking important Wickets for India and he got Pakistan to 9 down with 1 over to go and it looked like a modest total but the number 11 of Pakistan Shahnawaz Dahani smashed 16 from 6 balls to take Pakistan to 147.
Also Read | Top 5 Highest wicket takers in Asia Cup history
India get off to a bad start in first 6 overs
As soon as the Indian innings started KL Rahul got out in the first ball he faced from Naseem Shah who was playing his first match and he did exceptionally well. He was bowling fast along with Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stayed out there and fought it out and played those 6 overs and although the runs were less only 1 wicket was lost.
Losing Virat and Rohit and the Jadeja show in middle overs
As soon as the spinners came to bowl both Virat and Rohit tried to get after them but both got out at long off and it was Ravindra Jadeja who rescued this Indian team as he scored important runs and did not let the match get too far but Surya Kumar Yadav did not have his best match and then came Hardik Pandya and from here the momentum of the match shifted.
The Hardik Pandya Show till the end
If the middle overs was the Ravindra Jadeja show then the death overs of the Indian overs was the show of Hardik Pandya as he was confident and knew what he had to do and in 17 balls he made 33 runs not out and with 2 balls to spare he hit the winning six to win the match for India. It was a great game of cricket and exactly what Asian and World cricket needed at this point.
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