South Asia is where the most fans of cricket live. So it is not hard to see why the appeal of the Asia Cup is as great as the World Cup. It is doubly true when there are matches between India and Pakistan.
India vs. Pakistan Matches are filled with everything an exciting game of cricket needs. Top-quality spin bowlers, Fast bowlers with impeccable swings, experienced all-rounders, and hard-hitting batsmen on both sides make the game impossible to ignore, even if you do not watch cricket.
Why Play the Asia Cup in T20 Format?
Asia Cup is a regional cricket cup played amongst the cricket teams in Asia. Nowadays it alternates between ODI and T20 formats every two years. So far, there have only been two T20 Asia cups. Between those cups, there are only three India vs. Pakistan matches. India has beaten Pakistan twice and Pakistan has beaten India only once.
First Match: Pakistan’s Batting Collapse and Virat Kohli’s Triumph
The 4th match of the Asia Cup T20 was played in Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Bangladesh. It was a low-scoring nightmare for Pakistan and a struggling yet disappointing win for India. Virat Kohli rescued India by playing a brilliant knock.
The pitch was very hard to bat on. This is something Pakistanis did not consider a problem, as noted by Shahid Afridi in his post-match interview. Pakistan’s batting order collapsed as soon as the match started. The highest score was Sarfaraz Ahmed’s 25 (24). Veterans like Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Malik did not play well at all.
Pakistan was all-out within 17 overs. All of the bowlers except Ashwin took wickets, with Hardik Pandya taking the highest (3 wickets).
India also started with a shaky foundation. They lost 3 wickets within 8 runs. Mohammad Amir is still remembered for this explosive spell who took the first three wickets. However, Virat Kohli played outstandingly well for the day, scoring 49 runs in 51 balls. He partnered with Yuvraj Singh and they both had a partnership of 68 runs. Virat Kohli was named man of the match for his performance.
Second match: India Won Again
It was the second match of Group A in Dubai. Dubai is kind of like Pakistan’s home ground nowadays as they had to play much of their games in the UAE due to the ban on international cricket in Pakistan. Pakistan Dubai’s pitch has historically been good for chasing therefore India chose to field. Batting ahead certainly made things difficult for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s total was 147 all out. Mohammad Rizwan scored 43 (42) and it was the highest for Pakistan that day. The middle order, after Iftikhar Ahmed, collapsed entirely and never recovered. Pakistan had no other notable innings. The batsmen were getting out at regular intervals.
Indian bowling, on the other hand, was mesmerizing, to say the least. Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, Bhuveneshwar Kumar, and Avesh Khan, all of them for wickets. Indian fast bowlers were extremely effective that day. Bhubaneshwar Kumar took 4 wickets and gave away only 26 runs.
India’s batting was responsible. They would not repeat the mistakes of the first match. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jajeda both played responsible innings of 35 runs and Hardik Pandya remained not out at 33 runs. Without Shaheed Afridi Pakistan’s Bowling attack was suffering. Naseem Shah took 2 wickets and Mohammad Nawaz took 3 wickets.
Third match: Redemption of Pakistan
The Asia Cup 2022 made Pakistan and India play again in the Super 4. It was certainly a more important match than the previous one. Therefore, India had confidence that they would beat Pakistan again.
This time, Pakistan elected to field first, signaling the importance of chasing in Dubai. Indian batting was tremendously good that day. They knew they had to give Pakistan a big target, and they did so successfully, scoring 181/7. India had not lost any wickets for the first 54 runs.
Virat Kohli scored 60 runs in 44 balls. He stood there and made sure that India’s batting would not collapse under pressure. Pakistan’s bowling was very average. Without Shaheen Afridi, their fast bowlers could not contain India. Everyone was very costly except Mohammad Nawaz who gave away just 25 runs in 4 overs.
The target was 182 in 120 balls for Pakistan. It was not impossible but very hard indeed. Mohammad Rizwan made it look easy. Like Virat Kohli, he played a brilliant game scoring 71 runs in just 51 balls.
Although Rizwan’s game was good, Mohammad Nawaz also helped the game with his 42-run innings. The solidifying portion of Pakistan’s batting was the partnership of 73 runs between Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz. However, both of them did not finish the game. It was 147/4 on the scoreboard when Rizwan was caught by Yadav.
The game was subsequently finished by Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah who had a partnership of 33 runs in 17 balls. India’s bowling, like Pakistan’s, was very average, to say the least. None of them created any kind of resistance that hurt Pakistani batting. Ravi Bishnoi is the only one who had an impact on the run rate.
T20 matches between India and Pakistan are always fun to watch. The 3 Pakistan vs. India matches are by no means defining anyone’s dominance, however, they clearly continue the trend of India dominating Pakistan in cup matches. Pakistan has done better in recent years but India has always been a more competitive side in World Cups, Asia Cups, and T20 World Cups.
The matches in Asia Cup T20 India vs. Pakistan clearly show that India is the favorite in every venue, be it Bangladesh or the UAE. Virat Kohli has repeatedly played well against Pakistan in all of these matches. Pakistan however has made a strong comeback in cup matches later in 2022. They have also won against India in T20 World Cup. The world awaits another clash between the rivals very soon.
