India beat Pakistan by five wickets in T20 Asia Cup blockbuster

India’s Ravindra Jadeja (left) and Hardik Pandya take a run during their match wining 52 run stand  in Asia Cup Twenty20 international cricket Group A match between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai last night – AFP

Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 33 as India beat Pakistan by five wickets in a hard-fought Asia Cup Twenty20 international yesterday.

Chasing 148 for victory, Ravindra Jadeja, who hit 35, and Pandya put on a key fifth-wicket stand of 52 as India reached their target with two balls to spare in Dubai. Virat Kohli scored 35 off 29 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. At one stage India was struggling at 4 for 89 but the stand between Jadeja and Karthik sealed the match in favour of India.

Pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya shared seven wickets to set up victory for India in their opening match of the six-nation tournament after they bowled out Pakistan for 147.

Mohammad Rizwan top scored for Pakistan with 43 off 42 balls and Ifthikar Ahmed scored 28 off 22 balls. Others such as Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan failed to improve upon their double figures.