India’s title defense at the 2022 Asia Cup started in the best possible way. The Men in Blue avenged their loss to Pakistan at the World Cup last year, beating the arch-rivals with a comfortable 5 wickets. It was a nail-biter contest, but also a fun one to watch. Players on both sides were pretty friendly all throughout the match, but on the pitch, they put on their best performance.

According Sportsbet io, India is the clear favorite for the 2022 title. That much has been obvious from India’s first match in the group. The team was drawn alongside another title favorite, Pakistan, and qualifier Hong Kong. After the first match showed that India will be no pushover, the match against Hong Kong will be a mere formality for the Men in Blue. They should progress to the knockout round with ease, and Pakistan will most likely await them for a rematch later in the tournament.

The win against the arch-rival has extended the amazing run of India’s national men’s cricket team. Rohit Sharma has breathed new life into these boys, but surprisingly, neither he nor Kohli were the starts in the Asia Cup opener. It was another man altogether who can lead the Men in Blue into a new era.

THE RETURN OF THE ALL-ROUNDER

Whenever India takes the pitch, fans expect Rohit Sharma or Rahul Kohli to go wild. The same goes for Babam Azar and Pakistan. While all those stars played a decent match in their recent encounter, an unlikely hero had the most epic performance – Hardik Pandya.

Starting as the batsman and bowler, Pandya had figures of 3/25 first and later scored an unbeaten 33 off 17 balls. To top it off, he ended the match with a six off the 4th ball on the last over. He was quite confident in the post-match conference. Pandya said to reporters that he would have picked himself even if the team needed 15 in the last over.

No one questioned Pandya’s abilities, but he’s recently playing on another level. The 28-year-old turned in an epic performance against Pakistan and emerged as a potential leader of this group in this tournament. He targeted the Pakistan batters with short balls. They took them by surprise and before they knew it, Hardik Pandya was all over the field.

GLORY LIES AHEAD?

All the bookies know it and fans know it too – India has a chance to nab the record 8th title in this year’s Asia Cup. The win against Pakistan was a warning shot. The Men in Blue are back, and with Kohli, Sharma, and Pandya on the field, they are a formidable match for any team.

With the Asia Cup all but in the bag, the team will quickly turn its attention to the upcoming World Cup. India will be looking to forget all about the last one, failing to qualify for the knockout round. But, if the Asia Cup is some pointer, this will be a completely different team at the World Cup, so others should beware.