Hardik Pandia’s all-round performance saw Rohit Sharma’s team win by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare. First, India restricted Pakistan to 147 runs with the bouncer weapon. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4 wickets. However, Hardik’s three-wicket spell broke the Pak innings. Then he also performed his duties with the bat. Hardik won with a six off the fourth ball of the last over. Team India won in a tense atmosphere (148-5).
India’s run chase did not start well at all. Lokesh Rahul returns for zero runs in the second ball of the innings. Then Virat Kohli came out to bat, it was his 100th T-20 match. Kohli was caught at slip on the second ball while driving down the field. Fakhar Zaman could not hold it though. Rohit-Kohli added 49 runs for the second wicket. That fixes the innings. But both Rohit (12) and Kohli (35) lost their wicket while hitting Mohammad Nawaz. After losing 3 wickets for 53 runs, Ravindra Jadeja and Surya Kumar Yadav pulled the team ahead. This time Naseem Shah bowled Surya (18).
India needed 51 runs in the last 5 overs. That stands at 32 runs in 3 overs. Pakistan was forced to keep four fielders outside the circle due to the over-rate penalty. However, Naseem made it clear with muscle tension. LBW to Jadeja, though he survives the review. In the 19th over, Hardik hit Harris Rauf for two boundaries to bring the equation down to seven runs in six balls. But Jadeja was bowled on the first ball of the last over. Hardik, however, made no mistake, remaining unbeaten on 33 off 17 balls.
Pakistan lost the toss and went to bat. Indian pacers restricted Pakistan to 147 runs. Pakistan’s score at the end of 10 overs was 68 for two. Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan added 45 runs for the third wicket to take the innings a bit further. This time Hardik’s three wickets destroyed the Pak innings. At this time, Pakistan looked like a directionless blunder. After that, Pakistan became completely trapped under the influence of Bhubi.