Asia Cup 2022: Ravindra Jadeja's Answer To Question On Rishabh Pant Leaves Journalists In Splits

One of the big talking points during India's Asia Cup opening match against Pakistan was the omission of star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. India went on to win a closely fought contest by five wickets, with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja steering the tense chase. Jadeja attended a press conference on Tuesday ahead of India's second Asia Cup match against Hong Kong and he was asked if Pant was left out due to the team combination or if there was an injury. To this, the all-rounder had an epic reply that left the room in splits.

"I don't know this at all, this is a question from out of my book," he said.

Epic reply by @imjadeja .. #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/VmwETvCWkH

— Anurag Sinha (@anuragsinha1992) August 30, 2022

In the match against Pakistan, India's pacers starred with their short ball tactic, bowling out the Babar Azam-led side for 147.

However, they got off to a tricky start in their chase, losing KL Rahul as early as the first over.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma looked to consolidate, but they fell in quick succession and Suryakumar Yadav was also sent back to the pavilion soon after.

Jadeja, promoted to No.4 in Pant's absence to counter the left-arm spin of Mohammad Nawaz - who got the wickets of both Kohli and Rohit - played a crucial knock and stitched a 52-run stand with Hardik Pandya.

He was joint-top scorer for India with his knock of 35, before falling off the first delivery of the final over.

Hardik wrapped the match up with two deliveries to spare with a six over long-on to finish unbeaten on 33 off 17.

A berth in the Super 4 stage is all but a formality now for India, and a win over Hong Kong will see them qualify as the leaders of Group A.

Topics mentioned in this article

Asia Cup, 2022 India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Hong Kong Ravindra Jadeja Rishabh Pant Cricket