The Indian cricket team suffered a five-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the 2022 Asia Cup Super 4 game on Sunday. After posting a strong total of 181/8 in 20 overs, riding on the stellar knock of Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team was expected to clinch a second successive win in the Super-4 clash against Pakistan, having already beaten them in the group game. However, the Babar Azam-led side put up a solid fight till the last ball and defeated India by 5 wickets.
Mohammad Rizwan shined with the bat yet again as he played an important knock of 71 runs off 51 balls, while Mohammad Nawaz, who came to bat at no.4, scored an explosive 42 off 20 runs to take Pakistan home.
However, during the 18-over of the game, a match-defining moment tilted the game towards Pakistan’s favor. Yes, during the game Arshdeep Singh dropped a crucial catch that could have completely changed the result of the match against India. While Arshdeep Singh impressed everyone with his yorkers, however, the pacer missed a simple catch earlier in the game that could have changed the result of the game. Arshdeep Singh dropped Asif Ali in the over, who, in turn, smashed a six and a four in the next over to take Pakistan closer to the target.
Following the game, Arshdeep Singh was trolled left, right, and center on social media for the blunder he made on-field. While he was receiving criticism from all corners, ormer India captain Virat Kohli, who attended the press conference after the match, came out in support of the young Indian bowler by giving his own example. He said:
“Anyone can make mistakes. It was a big game and the situation was very tight. I remember when I first played in the Champions Trophy, we had our first game against Pakistan and I played a really bad shot against Shahid Afridi,”
He added: “I kept staring at the ceiling till 5 in the morning. I couldn’t sleep, I thought I won’t ever get a chance now and my career is over. So, all these things are quite natural. But we will get back together tomorrow, and when the team environment is nice, you get to learn,”
Further, Virat credited Rohit Sharma and the team management for ensuring a positive environment in the team. He said: “I’ll give this credit to the management and the captain. They have created an atmosphere which makes everyone secure. You will make mistakes, you accept it, and then look forward to getting back into the same pressure situation again,”
