DUBAI: Mohammad Rizwan made 71 as Pakistan beat India by five wickets in their opening Super Four game at the Asia Cup on Sunday.
Chasing 182 for victory, a 73-run stand between Rizwan and the left-handed Mohammad Nawaz (42) helped Pakistan achieve their target with one ball to spare in Dubai.
Earlier, Virat Kohli's 60 guided India to 181-7 after being put in to bat first in the tournament, which acts as a tune-up to the T20 World Cup in October-November.
Star batsman Kohli hit his second successive fifty as India made 181-7 against Pakistan in their opening Super Four match at the Asia Cup on Sunday.
Kohli, who hit 60 off 44 balls before being run out in the final over, helped India survive a middle-order stutter to post a competitive total after being put in to bat first in Dubai.
He reached his 32nd half-century in 36 balls with a six off pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain amid chants of "Kohli, Kohli" at a packed stadium.
Leg-spinner Shadab Khan stood out with figures of 2-31 from his four overs.
India skipper Rohit Sharma came out all guns blazing to smash pace bowler Naseem Shah for a six and four in the opening over of the match.
Opening partner KL Rahul soon took the cue to whack Naseem for two cracking blows over the fence.
The openers put on 54 runs briskly and attempted to make full use of the powerplay, when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner circle, by hitting lofted shots, but Rohit fell when he mistimed Haris Rauf.
Khushdil Shah clung on to a sky-high catch as Rohit went back after scoring 28 off 16 balls in the sixth over.
Shadab struck the next over to cut short Rahul's stay on 28 and then left-arm orthodox spinner Mohammad Nawaz removed the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav for 13.
Kohli, who has slowly come out his lean patch with scores of 35 and 59 in the previous two matches, kept the score ticking and got the occasional boundary.
But Pakistan kept chipping away with wickets including the left-handed Rishabh Pant for 14 and Hardik Pandya for a second-ball duck off Hasnain.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan had an injury scare when he landed awkwardly on his right leg in an attempt to stop a bouncer but was able to continue.
Ravi Bishnoi finished off the innings with two boundaries as Fakhar Zaman faltered twice in the deep, including dropping a catch that reached the ropes.
Pakistan win toss, opt to bowl first against India
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first against India in a key Super Four Twenty20 international of the Asia Cup on Sunday.
The two Asian giants meet for the second time in the six-nation tournament after India edged Pakistan in the group stage last week.
Pakistan have made one change from their 155-run hammering of Hong Kong in the group stage with pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain coming in for the injured Shahnawaz Dahani, who was ruled out due to a suspected side strain.
"We will bowl first. The dew could be a factor, that's the reason we're bowling first," Azam said at the toss.
"We had a lot of positives from the last match against India. The message is to play positively."
India, who made the Super Four stage with two wins over Pakistan and Hong Kong, have made three changes to their team with Hardik Pandya, who was rested in the previous match, returning to the XI.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and all-rounder Deepak Hooda make the team in place of Ravindra Jadeja, who was forced out of the tournament with an injured knee, and Avesh Khan, who is recovering from illness.
Skipper Rohit Sharma said they would have bowled first as well had he won the toss but believes playing freely in the much-hyped match would be key.
"We would have bowled first, but now we need to play freely and amass a good score on this pitch," said Rohit.
"Momentum counts in this format, you've to be on the money from the start, not worry about external pressures."
Rohit said Jadeja has returned home and it was a "headache" selecting the team for their opening match in the Super Four.
The bitter rivals play each other only in multi-nation tournaments due to political tensions.
The top two teams at the end of the Super Four stage will play the final at the same venue on September 11.
The tournament is a prelude to the T20 World Cup in October-November in Australia.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Bout between 27-year-old social media star, 58-year-old ex-pugilist was streamed live on Netflix
As per rules, sources say, Indian board will have to provide solid grounds for decision
PCB says trophy will also see scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad
Match schedule of upcoming tournament approved by ICC's main broadcast partner, say sources
Visitors lost six batters on single-digit scores, with bowler Abbas Afridi remaining top scorer with 20
Sources say that the latest development has been communicated to the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation
