IND vs PAK: "This Game Is As Valuable As A Final," Says Mohammad Rizwan After Leading Pakistan To Victory Over India.

India and Pakistan have a reputation of producing thrillers, and that’s exactly what happened on Sunday in the Asia Cup Super 4 encounter. Pakistan held their nerve to beat arch rival India by five wickets in a thrilling five-wicket win.

Mohammad Rizwan led the chase with 71 runs off 41 balls as Pakistan pulled off a thrilling chase at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli lead India to 181/7. Babar Azam’s team remained calm as they chased it down with one ball to spare.

Indian Openers Gave A Good Start

The openers gave India an explosive start after being asked to bat first. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul delivered quick fire blows as India reached their half-century in just 26 balls, the fastest half-century against Pakistan.

Haris Rauf gave Pakistan the breakthrough in the final over of the power-play, ending Rohit’s scorching 16-ball 28 performance. India stumbled after losing two wickets in rapid succession. Following Rohit, Rahul, who had finally discovered his scoring potential, was dismissed in the next over after a quick fire 28 off 20. Suryakumar Yadav, who once again got off to a flying start with a boundary, was dismissed for 13 from 10 as Pakistan put the brakes on their neighbors.

Despite wickets falling at the other end, including Virat Kohli kept India’s innings alive. Kohli celebrated his half-century with a maximum. This was Kohli’s second half-century in the ongoing Asia Cup, and he put on an impactful performance with the bat, scoring 50 off 36 deliveries.

Mohammad Rizwan Continued His Form

Men in Green chased down a score of 182 runs with a ball to spare, despite losing five wickets. Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, was once again the hero, leading the chase with 71 runs off 51 balls. During his tenure at the crease, he scored six fours and two sixes, laying the groundwork for his team to defeat India.

It was his second consecutive Asia Cup fifty. He began the competition with 43 from 42 balls against India and then went unbeaten against Hong Kong with 78 from 57 balls. With his 71 on Sunday, he has also moved into first place among batsmen with the most runs in this year’s Asia Cup event.

Rizwan Feels This Match As Valuable As The Final

After leading his team to an incredible victory over India, the 30-year-old batsman stated that the victory over the Rohit Sharma-led side was equally important as the final.

“The whole world is watching this match. This game is as valuable as a final. Every player will try to go and give his 100%,” Rizwan said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“The plan, as always, was to score against the new ball with one of us (himself and Babar Azam) batting long. I tried to stay till the end.”

“We know our strengths. We have depth in our batting. We have power-hitters who are capable of hitting around 45 runs off the last four overs. So we didn’t panic,” Rizwan added.

India will now need to beat Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in order to qualify for the final.

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