IND v PAK 2022: 3 Indian players who flopped against Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 match
Team India lost their unbeaten record in the 2022 Asia Cup as arch-rivals Pakistan edged them out by five wickets in a last-over humdinger at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 4.
Batting first, India were in the game until the 19th over of Pakistan's run-chase. But the Men in Blue lost their nerve under pressure as batting contributions from Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali took Pakistan over the line. As many as three Indian bowlers leaked over 10 runs per over, only one batter - Virat Kohli - scored more than 30 and Arshdeep Singh's sloppy drop cost Rohit Sharma and Co. heavily.
Here are three Indian players who failed to deliver in their first match of the Super 4 stage against Pakistan.
#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
With six wickets in three matches, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is India's leading wicket-taker in the 2022 Asia Cup. However, the veteran pacer failed to come up with the goods against an opposition he has an excellent record against.
Bowling two overs in the powerplay, Bhuvneshwar conceded 17 runs as Rizwan and Babar Azam took him for three fours and rotated strike with ease. His third over was impressive as he dismissed the dangerous Nawaz and gave away only five runs. But the 32-year-old's fourth over, the penultimate over of the innings, was horrible.
Attempting to execute wide off-cutters against Asif Ali, Bhuvneshwar conceded a four and a six apart from a wide. Khushdil Shah pulled him away for a four as well, with the over giving Pakistan 19 runs and bringing the equation down to seven off six.
Bhuvneshwar should've just attempted the yorker, which fetched him good results each time he tried it. India would've expected more from their experienced campaigner.
#2 Rishabh Pant
Playing against Pakistan due to his left-handedness and ability to take on spinners in the middle overs, Rishabh Pant walked in at No. 5 at the fall of Suryakumar Yadav's wicket. Tasked with countering Nawaz and Shadab Khan, the wicketkeeper-batter completely failed to execute his role, leaving India in a spot of bother.
Pant faced five balls off Nawaz and three off Shadab, and his only boundary was off a wild slog and claimed the edge before finding the third-man fence. Immediately after the four, the southpaw brought out a reverse-sweep that ended in a soft dismissal in the circle.
Pant, the left-hander brought in to counter the ball turning into him, got out to a reverse-sweep. It was a truly inexplicable shot from the young batter, who clearly has the ability to clear the leg-side boundary at will. His record against spin in T20 cricket hasn't been great of late, and India might need to make some bold calls.
#1 Hardik Pandya
Only a week ago, Hardik Pandya was the Player of the Match for his all-round showing against Pakistan. He scalped three wickets with the short ball and held his nerve under pressure in the run-chase. After taking a rest against Hong Kong, the 28-year-old was primed to replicate his display in the Super 4 stage.
Unfortunately for Hardik, he had a miserable outing this time around. He bagged a two-ball duck, caught at midwicket playing an uncertain flick off Mohammad Hasnain. He got out in the 15th over, leaving India's last recognized batting pair to play the entirety of the death overs.
Hardik couldn't make amends with the ball either. Although he dismissed Rizwan off the penultimate ball of his spell, he leaked 44 runs in his four overs and was India's most expensive bowler on the night. He was hit for six fours and a six as he failed to execute his plans while playing as the third seamer.