Asia Cup 2023

Asia Cup 2022: 3 Reasons why India were able to beat Pakistan

India and Pakistan locked horns on Sunday (August 28) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the Asia Cup 2022. India won the toss and put Pakistan to bat. The Men in Green were bundled out for 147. India in response, won the match by five wickets in a last-over thriller.

In the game of ebbs and flows, India found match winners at crucial junctures and cashed in some crunch moments of the game. Let us look at the three reasons why the Men in Blue defeated their arch-rivals.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar impeccable at the power play and death

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was impeccable at the start and fag end of the innings. Pakistan’s opening duo was the prime threat for India coming into the match. They were the chief architects when Men in Green thrashed India by 10 wickets last year. Bhuvneshwar, India’s most experienced bowler, was tasked to set the tone with the ball up front. India’s swing king asked tough questions to the Pakistan opening duo, and later prized out Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam in his opening spell.

He came for the death overs when Pakistan was eyeing a strong finish. He straight away got rid of Pakistan’s boundary hitter Asif Ali in the first over of his second spell. Then, in his last and final over, he removed Shadab Khan, who was his team’s last recognized batter at the crease at moment. In the very next ball, he sent Naseem Shah back to the pavilion. Bhuvneshwar ended with a spell with figures 4-0-26-4.