When Pakistan defeated India in the T20 World Cup 2021, there was an atmosphere of mourning in the country.24 October 2021 was the day when Team India was facing defeat in the World Cup against Pakistan for the first time. Indian fans were unable to digest this defeat because the opposition team had trampled India by 10 wickets by showing a great game. After this match, Indian fans were eagerly waiting for the next India vs Pakistan war. During the T20 World Cup 2021, this could not happen because Team India could not step into the knockout stage. In such a situation, when the schedule of the Asia Cup was announced, the fans marked the date of August 28 on the calendar.

It is a matter of coincidence that the battle between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup took place on the same ground where the T20 World Cup match was played between the two teams. Although Sri Lanka got the hosting of the Asia Cup, in view of the country facing economic and political crisis, the Sri Lankan board withdrew its hands, after which the UAE got this responsibility.

In the Asia Cup, India had the same team that defeated them, the same ground where the team lost and the same format of T20. In such a situation, India could not have had a better chance of erasing the pain of the stinging defeat for 308 days.

During the toss, this time the coin fell in India's bag and captain Rohit Sharma chose to bowl without hesitation. Veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar had pushed Pakistan on the back foot by trapping a big fish in the form of Babar Azam in the very beginning. Mohammad Rizwan was batting slowly from the other end and the Indian bowling attack was continuously attacking Pakistan using bouncers. India took the first 5 wickets on a bouncer, the result was that Pakistan succumbed to the Indian bowlers and the entire team was reduced to 147 runs in 19.5 overs.

The real challenge was for India in batting. While KL Rahul was making a comeback to the team, Kohli was struggling with poor form. At the same time, there was not even a big name like Rishabh Pant in the line-up. India's run chase started on a disappointing note.KL Rahul got out on a golden duck in the style of T20 World Cup 2021. But after this, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli tried to handle the team. When it seemed that the team was reaching a good position, then one after the other both the batsmen returned to the pavilion.

The thrill of the last few overs

Fans were surprised when Jadeja came out to bat at number four above Suryakumar Yadav. However, Jadeja played an important inning of 35 runs, proving this decision of the captain and team management right. His partnership with Hardik Pandya was going well. India needed 51 runs in the last 5 overs and needed 10 runs from here in every over. Even in the last two overs, Team India was 21 runs away from the target.

Then Hardik Pandya reduced the pressure by hitting three fours in the over of Haris Rauf. There was a lot of pressure on Mohammad Nawaz, who brought the last over of the innings as he got only 7 runs to defend. Excited to see the left-arm spinner, Jadeja made a mistake on the first ball and returned to the pavilion after losing his wicket. Hardik Pandya looked quite disappointed with this wicket as his partner Jadeja was doing well. On the second ball of the over, Karthik took a run and gave a strike to Hardik. Hardik looked quite calm during the batting and he believed in himself that he could win the team. After missing the third ball, Hardik hit a long six on the next ball to give India a five-wicket victory and relieved the pain of a stinging defeat for 308 days. Hardik Pandya was awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-around performance.