Asia Cup 2022: Former PAK coach hails India's masterstroke move that stumped Pakistan

Former Pakistan team head coach Mickey Arthur hailed India's masterstroke move against Pakistan during their opening game of the Asia Cup on Sunday. Arthur, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, suggested that sending Ravindra Jadeja at number four was a very good decision as it forced Pakistan to hold their left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz until the final over. Talking about the move, Arthur said it was a key decision since it prevented Pakistan from bringing Nawaz early on in the innings. 

IND vs PAK: Mickey Arthur reveals how sending Jadeja at no.4 was a brilliant move

"The key for me was having a left-hander there in the middle because that meant they [Pakistan] couldn't bring [Mohammad] Nawaz back. So they had to hold Nawaz to the back-end. And that ultimately probably cost them," Arthur was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

Nawaz was brought into the attack in the eighth over of the second innings, in which he dismissed the Indian captain Rohit Sharma. He was brought back in the 10th over in which he picked the wicket of India's star batter Virat Kohli. Nawaz was once again brought into the attack in the 12th over but because of Jadeja's presence on the crease, he was withdrawn by Babar Azam until the last over of the game. 

Asia Cup 2022: Jadeja's crucial partnership with Hardik

Nawaz went on to dismiss Jadeja in the final over to pick his third wicket but the job had already been done by the Indian all-rounder by then. Jadeja forged a 52-run partnership with Hardik Pandya to take India closer to the target before being dismissed for 35 off 29 balls. Jadeja's knock proved instrumental in the end as it helped India register a 5-wicket victory over Pakistan. Talking about his knock after the match, Jadeja said he had gone in to bat with the mindset of attacking spinners. He said he was thinking of attacking them at every opportunity he gets.  

"When I was promoted in the batting order, I was just thinking of taking my chances against the spinners, attack them at every opportunity I get. And our partnership was very crucial. We just talked in the middle about backing our strengths and play our shots - this was very crucial," Jadeja told Hardik after the match. 

Image: Twitter/@BCCI/@DerbyshireCCC