Match Report: All-round Nawaz helps Pakistan beat India by 5 wickets in a thrilling Super 4 clash
Our effort is to keep it simple. Ups and downs will keep happening. They got the edge the way they utilised the powerplay. But our bowlers made a comeback. Rizwan and Nawaz partnership was the turning point. I had a hunch Nawaz would be key against leg spinners (about his promotion).
It's a high pressure game, we know that. You've got to be at it every time. A game like that can take a lot. We were calm even when there was a partnership between Rizwan and Nawaz. But that partnership obviously went a little long and they batted brilliantly. Games like this can bring the best out of them if they deliver. These are the games that can make them. They've done it in the past. There's a class on the other team as well. And we're not surprised with that. We understand the pitch gets slightly better in the second innings. It's good learning for us. I thought it was a good score. Any pitch, any conditions when you get 180 it's a good score. We got to learn a lot today - what sort of mindset we need to have when defending a score like that. Like I said you've got to give credit to Pakistan. They've played better than us. The form is brilliant (talking about Kohli). Needed someone to bat long when the others were getting out. He batted with that tempo as well. Virat getting that score was crucial from the team's point of view. Wickets of Hardik and Rishabh were not needed at that time. But we want to play with an open mindset. While taking that approach you'll not always have success.
The whole world is watching this match. This game is as valuable as a final. Every player will try to give his 100%. The plan, as always, was to score against the new ball with one of us (himself and Babar Azam) batting long. I tried to stay till the end. We know our strengths, we have depth in our batting, we have power-hitters who are capable of hitting around 45 runs off the last four overs. So we didn't panic.
It's all over! Pakistan (182/5 in 19.5 overs) beat India (181/7) by 5 wickets
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