India captain Rohit Sharma was gracious in defeat. After India's five-wicket defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan in their Super Four match of Asia Cup 2022, Rohit admitted that Babar Azam & Co. have "played better than" India.
Put into bat, India managed to post a big total of 181/7 thanks to Virat Kohli's 60 off 44. But Pakistan chased down the target with one ball to spare in the Dubai thriller.
Rohit, who stitched a 54-run opening stand with KL Rahul, said that a total of 181 was always a good one and he didn't think that they were 10-15 short.
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"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," Rohit said after the match.
India scored 93/3 in the first ten overs after a flying start, but could add only 88 runs in the next ten overs as Pakistan fought back.
And unlike India, Pakistan were off to a relatively poor start but Mohammad Rizwan (71 off 51) and the player of the match Mohammad Nawaz (42 off 20) not only rebuilt the innings but ensure that defending champions were under pressure.
"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," Rohit added.
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Rohit, 35, also insisted that in a high-intensity game like this, one can't lose momentum. But he took the opportunity to hail the two Pakistani batters.
"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. We understand the pitch gets slightly better in the second innings," he said.
This was Pakistan's third win against India in the T20Is. India still have a 8-3 lead in the head-to-head record.
India captain was all praise for his predecessor.
"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."
India will now need to beat both Sri Lanka, on Tuesday and Afghanistan on Thursday for a place in the final.
Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the first Super Four match on Saturday.
