(Cricket news) Arch rivals India and Pakistan played out an incredible thriller in their Asia Cup clash. India came out on top as they won by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare. The toss was won by Rohit Sharma who elected to bowl first. The Indian line-up had a couple of surprises as Rishabh Pant was left on the bench in favour of Dinesh Karthik while Avesh Khan played ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi owing to the conditions which were seam friendly. Pakistan on the other hand handed a T20I debut to Naseem Shah. Shahnawaz Dahani was also included in the playing XI while Hasan Ali was left on the bench.

India bowled incredibly well in the powerplay as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh bowled 15 dot balls in the first four overs itself. Mohammad Rizwan was the highest run scorer as he scored 43 off 42 hitting 4 fours and a six. Iftikhar Ahmed was the only other batter to cross the 20 run mark. The total would have been well below par if Dahani and Haris Rauf hadn't produced some late fireworks. In the end Pakistan were bundled over for 147 runs in 19.5 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 4/26 thanks to some exceptional bowling with the new ball and at the death. Hardik Pandya was also incredible with the ball picking up 3/25 in his four overs. He used the short delivery to absolute perfection and picked up crucial wickets. Arshdeep Singh also chipped in with 2 wickets at the death while Avesh Khan got a scalp.

Chasing 148 India got off to a terrible start as they lost vice captain KL Rahul on the 2nd ball off debutant Naseem Shah. The first few overs were incredibly tricky. Virat Kohli did take off the pressure a little bit by getting the odd boundaries while skipper Rohit Sharma was struggling to middle the ball and get going. He finally connected a shot and hit Mohammad Nawaz for a six but was dismissed 2 balls later after trying to get another maximum. Nawaz got Virat Kohli out in his very next over as India were really struggling. Ravindra Jadeja was sent at number 4 to get a left hander in the middle and also attack the spinners. Suryakumar Yadav also couldn't make an impact as he was dismissed after scoring a run a ball 18. India's two star all-rounders Jadeja and Pandya put together a match winning partnership of 52 runs to take India home. Nawaz ended up picking 3/33 and bowled well but defending 7 runs in the final over with only 4 fielders allowed outside due to the slow over rate was a big ask. Debutant Naseem Shah had a very good outing until he injured his leg and couldn't even run to full strength. His availability for the next match and potentially the rest of the tournament is a doubt.

Hardik Pandya was named the player of the match for his all-round brilliance. He once again showed why he is the most important member of this Indian side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also brilliant as he brought all his experience into play. Ravindra Jadeja was economical with the ball and ever so reliable with the bat. Virat Kohli's innings of 35 off 34 was very crucial because he got some boundaries when Rohit Sharma was really struggling which somewhat kept the scoreboard ticking. ICC announced a rule this January that if the bowling team doesn't start the last over in time then they will be allowed one less fielder outside the 30-yard circle. Both the teams had to do that in this match and it is something which will be a regular thing in the future as well.

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