#OnThisDay: Asia Cup archives - Throwback to Hardik Pandya's famous finish in India-Pakistan clash in 2022

The countdown to the 2025 Asia Cup has begun and for obvious reasons, the India-Pakistan clash is the most awaited game of the tournament. There was uncertainty regarding the league game between the two sides, especially since India's veteran side backed out twice against their Pakistan counterparts in the recently concluded World Championship of Legends tournament, including a semifinal clash.

However, with the Union Government giving the go-ahead to the proposed India-Pakistan league game, anticipation has started to rise for that game which could be the first of what could potentially be three games between the arch-rivals. With the nearest World Cup being the one in the shortest format, this Asia Cup will be played in T20 format and that brings us back to the 2022 edition, which was also played in the T20 format. The India-Pakistan league game in that edition was a blockbuster contest that went right down to the wire. Today, 28th August, marks three years of that epic game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India's captain Rohit Sharma opted to bowl on a tricky Dubai surface with the hope of dew in the second half. Pakistan's innings was a struggle with none of the batters finding a proper tempo against India's disciplined attack. Mohammad Rizwan's 42-ball 43 and Iftikhar Ahmed's 22-ball 28 were the major contributions with their 45-run stand being the only fluent phase of the Pakistan innings. It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-26) and Hardik (3-25) who ruled the roost for India with their clever pace variations and usage of hard lengths. If not for Shahnawaz Dhani's two sixes in the final over, Pakistan's total of 147 would have been further crippled.

Nevertheless, that late flurry gave some momentum to Babar Azam's men and with dew not showing up as expected, India's chase was off to a wobbly start. KL Rahul fell for a golden duck and Rohit also didn't last long. It was up to Virat Kohli to steady things once again in a run chase. Ravindra Jadeja, promoted to no.4, also got some runs alongside Kohli but neither of them were able to take the game away from Pakistan's bowlers. Kohli fell with the asking rate mounting, putting Pakistan in pole position to turn the game on its head. When Naseem Shah castled Suryakumar Yadav, India still needed 59 from 34 balls, a very difficult equation on this Dubai pitch.

However, Hardik continued from where he left off with the ball, striking a boundary off just his third delivery to bring India back in the game. The equation came down to 41 needed off 24 and then, 21 off 12 balls with Hardik finding the odd boundary to keep the chase in check. Jadeja, meanwhile, hung in there but was barely able to put pressure on the bowling. 21 from 12 became 19 off 10 before Hardik smashed the in-form Haris Rauf for three boundaries in four balls to flip the script. It was an excellent show of smart batting, leaving India with just seven to get off the final over. Babar punted with Mohammad Nawaz to bowl the final over and it began with the wicket of Jadeja to further strengthen the tensions in the India camp.

Dinesh Karthik, the designated finisher, got Hardik back on strike with a single but Nawaz managed a dot ball off the third ball to bring it to six needed off three balls. It was anybody's game now but for Hardik, it was only a matter of one shot. His famous gesture to DK after the dot ball is now part of folklore, as he pumped the next ball over wide long-on for a six to seal the deal. It was the fitting end to an epic thriller.

Little did we know then, that the two teams would feature in a much more thrilling game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the T20 World Cup few months later.