India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 LIVE updates: Bhuvi on a hat-trick as Pakistan tottering

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan. In what promises to be the mother of all battles, Rohit Sharma & Co. will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. The blockbuster clash is scheduled to be staged at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. India lost by ten wickets in the last meeting between the two teams at the T20 World Cup last year and will be aiming to avenge their defeat at the same venue this time around. Despite both teams missing their best pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi respectively, the clash is expected to be a blockbuster affair.

India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 live score and updates:

9:24 PM IST: Bhuvi ends with the best bowling figures by an Indian versus Pakistan. 4-0-26-4. SIMPLY SUPERB!!!

9:18 PM IST: Arshdeep, Bhuvi continue to strike for India in the end overs. Pakistan is desperate to take closer to the 150-run mark. It can be a tricky total — despite India’s superstar-batting line-up — but even that looks like an improbable task for the Men in Green. PAK 128-8 in 18.2 overs

9:04 PM IST: Pakistan have lost the plot. Every time they looked to attack, they have lost wickets. Hardik’s three consecutive strikes have dented Men in Green’s progress. All hopes were on Shadab-Asif Ali but they have now lost the latter as well, to Bhuvi. Babar & Co. are certainly finding it tough to strike big with the Indian bowlers changing their pace and using the bouncers at will. PAK 112-6 (16.3 overs).

8:51 PM IST: OUT! Another quick delivery, hitting the seam right and followed the batsman. Good catch from Avesh at the third-man region as Pakistan lose Rizwan. Hardik strikes once again. India needed this right before the final five overs. PAK 96/4 (14.1 overs)

8:48 PM IST: We are heading into the final five overs. All eyes are on Rizwan. He is nearing a half-century. Although Pakistan will hope for him to better his strike rate considerably going ahead. Bhuvi and Arshdeep’s remaining overs will be crucial. Fasten your seatbelts, we are in for a rapid end to the first half. PAK 96/3 (14)

8:42 PM IST: OUT! Pandya comes back into the attack and uses the short ball to get rid of the dangerman Iftikhkar. He was looking good in the partnership and was set to explode in the final overs. India continue to remain ahead. Will they close the first half in style? PAK 87-3 (12.1 overs)

8:38 PM IST: A huge six — from Iftikhar — followed by a dropped catch of his own bowling from Chahal. A dozen overs complete as Rizwan-Iftikhar get a move on. PAK 87-2 (12)

8:28 PM IST: India end the first ten overs by easily having the edge. Pakistan have struggled to break the shackles after losing captain Babar. Iftikhar has come out with a positive intent. Will be interesting to see who will be targetted by the Pakistani pair in the last ten overs. Anything below 150 won’t be a challenging score for his batting-heavy Team India line-up. PAK 68-2 (10)

8:22 PM IST: The pitch is dry. Spinners have come into play from both ends — with Chahal and Jadeja — as Pakistan are struggling to get going. The surfaces in UAE are tricky and can test any batting side. Nonetheless, taking nothing away from Indian bowlers’ discipline so far. PAK 63-2 (9)

8:16 PM IST: Rizwan in focus as Pakistan lose two quick wickets. Iftikar comes in as India introduces spin into the attack with Yuzi Chahal bowling the 8th over. PAK 51/2 (7)

8:06 PM IST: Avesh bowls the sixth over, the last of the powerplay. Rizwan took him on and got rewarded. Men in Green were on the move before the pacer removed Fakhar Zaman. The left-hander went for a cut and seemed to have edged it. He walked away as soon as the ball passed him. PAK 42-2 (5.5)

8:02 PM IST: Another brilliant over for India. Hardik troubles Rizwan with his movement and the right-hander isn’t looking in his elements so far. Hardik concedes only seven runs in his first as PAK 30/1 (5)

8 PM IST: Bhuvi follows Nehraji!!!

7:54 PM IST: Plenty of dot balls from Bhuvi-Arshdeep as pressure piling up on Pakistan. Will be interesting to see how Rizwan goes about his business after losing Babar early. He added another boundary to his team’s tally in the fourth over. Men in Green will need a special from him. PAK 23/1 (4)

7:48 PM IST: OUT! Bhuvi resorts to the bouncer and probably surprised Babar as the captain went for the pull, gets a top-edge to be caught by Arshdeep. Big wicket for Team India. PAK 15/1 in 2.4 overs

7:44 PM IST: A decent over from Arshdeep before another beautiful drive from Babar in the last ball of the second over. He is pleasing to the eye. Pakistan skipper looking good already. PAK 14/0 (2 overs)

7:32 PM IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar is always dangerous with the new ball. There was some movement on the first ball and he trapped Md Rizwan lbw on the very next delivery. The decision, however, went upstairs after the umpire signalled out. Rizwan carries on as the ball misses the off-side on height. It was followed by a beautiful drive from Babar and a DRS from India, leading to Rizwan surviving once again. Entertaining first over. PAK 6/0 (1)

7:25 PM IST: In Shaheen Afridi’s absence, Pakistan have opted for a solid pace attack consisting of Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani. They also have three spin options but the middle-order looks thin.

7:15 PM IST: Some interesting selection calls from India. Rohit & Co. have dropped Rishabh Pant for in-form Dinesh Karthik depriving them of a left-hand option in the top five. India have also gone with three specialist pacers with Chahal and Jadeja as the two spinners.

7:05 PM IST: Here are the playing XIs of the two teams

Pakistan: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani

India: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

7:00 PM IST: Toss! India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first.

6:55 PM IST: Rahul Dravid is back with the Indian squad after testing negative for COVID-19 and was spotted giving a pep talk to the players ahead of the big game.

6:50 PM IST: We are just a few minutes away from toss as players from both sides continue their warm-up ahead of the high-profile clash. The Dubai International Stadium is packed with fans from both countries as they wait to watch their heroes in action.