In a thrilling last-over contest, Team India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup 2022 game at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28.
The Men in Blue made significant inroads into Pakistan’s batting lineup after winning the toss and electing to bowl first. Except for Mohammad Rizwan (43), no Pakistan batter looked at ease in the middle.
Brilliant bowling performances from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) and Hardik Pandya (3/25) helped Rohit Sharma and company limit Pakistan to 147 in 20 overs.
Despite being put on the back foot early on, Virat Kohli (35) and Ravindra Jadeja (35) kept the Men in Blue in the hunt until Hardik Pandya (33*) finished things off in the final over.
Overall, the last-over thriller between the two teams lived up to the hype and provided an excellent performance for the neutrals.
The Men in Blue set several records during the thrilling game. For starters, Virat Kohli made his 100th T20I appearance, making him the first Indian to play 100 international games in each format.
On that note, let’s take a look at three other milestones that were created during the Rohit Sharma-led side’s inspiring win over Pakistan:
Best bowling spell by an Indian against Pakistan in T20Is
In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the bowling attack expertly. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the best figures by an Indian against Pakistan on Sunday, finishing with 4/26.
In the third over of the game, the right-arm seamer set the tone for his team by dismissing the dangerous Babar Azam. The Meerut-born bowler added three more wickets in the final overs to complete his fourth T20I four-fer (most by any Indian bowler in T20Is).
Rohit Sharma became the fastest to 30 T20I wins as skipper
After the nail-biting win against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma became the fastest captain to win 30 T20Is, adding another illustrious feather to his cap.
Rohit reached the landmark in only his 36th T20I as captain. He broke former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan’s record of 30 T20I victories in 39 games.
Rohit’s 30th T20I victory as captain places him alongside MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli as one of the Men in Blue’s most successful T20I captains.
First instance where Indian pacers took all 10 wickets in a T20I game
After failing to take a single wicket in their previous match against Pakistan, Indian pacers exacted their vengeance by destroying the Men in Green’s batting line-up. In their first Asia Cup game, the Men in Blue’s pace attack took all ten Pakistani wickets
It was the first time in T20I history that India’s pacers took all ten scalps from an opponent. Throughout the game, the pacers were on fire and did not let the Pakistan batters settle at the crease.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya combined for seven wickets, Arshdeep Singh (two wickets) and Avesh Khan (one wicket) also contributed crucial blows.
Interestingly, in the previous T20I against the West Indies earlier this month, three spinners (Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, and Kuldeep Yadav) took all ten wickets in the innings for the first time.
