Asia Cup 2022: The Men in Blue kicked off their campaign in the ongoing 2022 edition of the Asia Cup with a stunning victory against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The Indian side registered a 5-wicket victory in the last-over thriller.
After Rohit won the toss and India decided to field first, the Indian side managed to bowl Pakistan out for a score of just 147 runs with Hardik Pandya taking three crucial wickets including that of Mohammad Rizwan.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya starred with the ball as they both rattled Pakistan’s batting unit, having picked four and three wickets respectively.
Chasing a target of 148 runs, the Indian cricket team started the innings on the worst possible note as they lost KL Rahul for a duck in the very first over. After this Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma formed a partnership and added a 49-run stand. Mohammed Nawaz dismissed Kohli and Sharma with twin strikes. Ultimately, it was the all-around performance of Hardik Pandya that made all the difference.
After the intense battle between both the teams, which went down to the final over, the love between the players of both the countries stole the show. In one of the heartwarming moments after the match, Virat Kohli gifted Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf a signed Indian cricket team jersey.
The clip of the same was shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Twitter and has been going crazily viral on social media.
Watch the video:
The match may be over but moments like these shine bright
A heartwarming gesture by @imVkohli as he hands over a signed jersey to Pakistan’s Haris Rauf post the #INDvPAK game
#TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/3qqejMKHjG
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 29, 2022
Talking about Virat Kohli, the Sunday game against Pakistan was a monumental one for him as he reached the epic milestone of completing 100 appearances for the national side in the T20 format. Kohli became only the second player to play 100 games after Ross Tayloe.
The Indian side will take on Hong Kong in their next Asia Cup 2022 game on 31st August.
