Hardik Pandya's 138-run stand for the 5th wicket was the match-saving one for India when the team faced Pakistan in their first match of Asia Cup 2023. India were reduced to 66/4 as Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf ran through India's top order after being asked to bowl first. The Men in Blue were in deep trouble but the vice-captain Pandya's 87 and Ishan Kishan's 82 powered India to a competitive 266 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Pandya received praises from many for his sedate knock and the former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has also lauded the all-rounder for his match-saving innings. Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar called the wash-out a good result for India as the team got contributions from the likes of Pandya and Kishan. "See the match that happened between India and Pakistan, there was no result to the match, but it was a great result for India, and the main result which India wanted was that contribution from Hardik Pandya, the runs, and Ishan Kishan also played well," Manjrekar said.
He lauded the two players for their sedate knocks. "Both Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya. And the talk about Hardik is that he is a very aggressive player, whenever he wants he can hit massive sixes, but for almost 70 minutes, Hardik Pandya was only taking singles and building his innings because he had to play conservatively. 50 overs cricket is a game of singles, especially the middle phase, it is a very boring phase for both the crowd and the players, but both Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan played that boring phase, played their innings well, and brought India to a respectable position," he added
India and Pakistan will play another contest in the Asia Cup when they lock horns on September 10 at the Super Four contest.
