Pakistan beat India by ten wickets in both teams’ first Super 12 game in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night.
Before the match, Pakistan was rated underdogs but an all-around display with the bat and the ball earned Babar Azam’s men a convincing victory.
It was the first time either side had beaten the other by 10 wickets in a limited-overs fixture.
Chasing the target of 152, captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper, Mohammad Rizwan batted till start to finish as they made India’s ‘world class’ bowling attack look ordinary for once.
Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was Pakiatan‘a hero. He dismissed three Indian batsmen including skipper Virat Kohli for 57, but India managed 151 for seven in their high-voltage Twenty20 World Cup clash.
The left-arm fast bowler Afridi returned figures of 3-31 after a lethal first spell to hurt India after they elected to field first in the Super 12s encounter in Dubai.
Kohli top-scored for India with his 29th T20 fifty to help the team rebuild before being caught behind off Afridi.
Afridi struck the first blow with an express delivery that swung in to trap Rohit Sharma lbw for a first-ball duck and the bowler celebrated with his trademark open-arm gesture.
Kohli walked in amid raucous applause from the Indian fans inside the 20,000-strong crowd who were soon silenced by another ripper from Afridi in his second over.
The 1.98-meter bowler got KL Rahul with a delivery that came in sharply to take the batsman’s thigh pad and rattle the stumps.
Kohli and new batter, Suryakumar Yadav attempted to hit back with some positive shots as they smashed Afridi for a six each.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan then pulled off a superb diving catch to cut short Yadav’s stay at the wicket with quick bowler Hasan Ali striking in his first over. Yadav made 11.
Rishabh Pant joined Kohli in the middle and the left-right batting pair rebuilt the innings and took India to 60-3 at the end of 10 overs.
He hit Ali for two successive sixes but finally fell to Shadab Khan’s leg-spin in the next over, top-edging a ball that went high and into the hands of the bowler.
Pakistani openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan made a mockery of the Indian bowlers, exposing India’s weak point.
Both batsmen scored half-centuries and comfortably saw Pakistan home.
