PAKvIND: India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in high-octane clash in Asia Cup 2022

DUBAI –India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the first encounter of the Asia Cup 2022 between the two arch-rivals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.

Chasing the target set by the Pakistan team, India scored 148 in 19.4 overs with five wickets in hand.

Pakistani bowlers performed dismally in today's match and their fitness issues were also exposed once again in today's game. However, Naseem Shah took two wickets and conceded 27 runs in four overs while Muhammad Nawaz took 3 wickets and conceded 33 runs in 3.4 overs.

Earlier, India contained Pakistan to 147 in 20 overs as Rohit Sharma’s side displayed A-game. In today's match, Pakistan's batting line proved a wall of sand against the Indian bowling attack.

Pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck for Men in Blue as Asif Ali walked back scoring a mere 9. Earlier, Khushdil Shah returned to the hut without captivating numbers.

Mohammad Rizwan held the key in the action-packed first half of the game. In another massive blow to Men in Green, the power hitter returned on a short delivery from Pandya.

Team Green lost the first two wickets as skipper Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman returned to the pavilion before scoring any big.

After Babar, Fakhar Zaman walked back to the dugout. Fakhar walked on his own before he was given out by the umpire, showing great sportsmanship.

In the first over, Pakistani hitter Rizwan survived after being given out LBW by the umpire. He goes up for a review and the ball was seemingly missing the off-stump from the shorter length which was confirmed in the replay.

Pakistan are 6⃣8️⃣-2⃣ at the halfway stage of the innings 🏏

Rizwan and Iftikhar are batting in the middle 🤝#AsiaCup2022 | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/UcneN1TMsg

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 28, 2022

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first in the highly-anticipated clash against Pakistan at Dubai stadium.

The two sides are locking horns in the second match of the Asia Cup, which is expected to be watched by nearly one billion cricket fans on multiple platforms.

Pakistan Cricket announced the squad for the high-octane clash including Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, and Shahnawaz Dahani.

🏏 India have won the toss and opted to field first 🏏

Our playing XI for the #INDvPAK clash 👇#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/IvCkAI5wUd

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 28, 2022

Team Green wearing black armbands to show solidarity with flood affectees

Pakistani squad will wear black armbands in their opening match against arch-rivals India to express solidarity towards the flood victims.

In a statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Babar XI will wear black armbands in their Asia Cup 2022 campaign opener against India to express their solidarity and support for flood-affected people across the country.

Indian coach Rahul Dravid returns after Covid

Rahul Dravid rejoined Men in Blue after testing negative for Covid, just hours before their blockbuster opening match against Pakistan.

The former captain, contracted virus as Indian team arrived at the UAE for the tournament, which is a warm-up for the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.

As Pakistan-India cricket matches have always been high-voltage events, the hosts have made elaborate arrangements to accommodate the spectators from the two countries at the Dubai Stadium.

Each side will seek to open the campaign with a big win. Last time, Men in Green beat India by 10 wickets in T20 World Cup 2021.

The neighbouring sides are part of Group A in the mega event along side Hong Kong. In Group B, there are Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

In the tournament’s opening game, Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka on Saturday night.

Ahead of the game, Pakistani skipper Babar Azam said the Pakistani side is committed to perform well on the field rather than firing salvos. For me, every match is important, the star batter said.

🗣️ "We have a squad full of quality cricketers and match-winners"

🇵🇰 captain Babar Azam expresses confidence in his side ahead of India match.

More details: https://t.co/zlZzYNjt3D#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/NvYcqDne3y

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 27, 2022

Recently, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is struggling with his form these days, hailed the Pakistani skipper, saying Babar Azam is probably the top batsman right now across formats.

Kohli mentioned enjoying Babar’s performance. Recalling his experience with the Pakistani skipper, Kohli said Babar has lots of respect and that he hasn’t changed even after doing so well in the international cricket.

Despite gestures from both sides, the exchanges on social media remained harsh.

Stars align ahead of the #AsiaCup2022 🤩

A high-profile meet and greet on the sidelines 👏 pic.twitter.com/c5vsNCi6xw

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 25, 2022

Pakistan this time will be without fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who is recovering from a knee injury.

SQUADS:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan