IND vs. PAK World Cup T20 2021: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan scored unbeaten half-centuries as Pakistan completed an impressive 10-wicket win over India on the first day of the World Cup T20 in Dubai.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan scored half-centuries in Pakistan’s stunning victory over India on the first day of the T20 World Cup in Dubai.
With a target of 152 runs, it looked like the Pakistani openers were in good shape as the Indian bowlers kept looking for a breakthrough. Earlier, Virat Kohli reached his 29 half-centuries in T20Is before being bowled out for 57 by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
India scored 151/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Afridi was in good touch, dismissing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul before Hasan Ali removed Suryakumar Yadav to give Pakistan an excellent start to the match.
Kohli hit five boundaries and a six in his knock. Rishabh Pant also played a good role in the game, playing 39 balls, including two 4 and two 6, off 30 balls before being run out by Shadab Khan. Hardik Pandya weakened in the final minutes, but India managed to cross the psychological 150-run mark.
Kohli dropped Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Ishan Kishan and brought Varun Chakravarthy into the squad. Pakistani captain Babar Azam won the toss and chose to play first.
India has fielded eleven KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan selected the following players in its final eleven: Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi.
Shaheen works his way through the first over.
When Shaheen Afridi has the new ball in his hands, he will almost inevitably bat with it. The batsmen know what is coming but are often unaware of it.
Afridi deceived Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as India slumped to 6/2. Afridi was right on target in his first over. In the first over of the match, he caught Rohit with a catch that hit him like a slab of lead.
Shaheen Afridi catches Rohit Sharma to take the lead.
In the next over, he brought Rahul in and crossed the wickets with the same in-swinger, and hit the woodwork.
As if that wasn’t enough, he went back to scalp Virat Kohli in the last over to ensure that he couldn’t do any further damage in the previous over.
The openers from New Zealand, Afghanistan, Namibia, and Scotland watched the match closely. They will be wary of Shaheen in future matches.
– PAKISTAN ZINDABAD ♥️ pic.twitter.com/mwaEQ04SU0
— Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (@realshoaibmalik) October 24, 2021
Babar wins on captains’ day.
Both captains scored sensational half-centuries, but it was Babar Azam who contributed to the victory.
Virat Kohli ensured that the Indian team did not collapse after trailing 6-2 and 31-3. He and Pant formed a 53-run partnership as India took control of the middle order. He then scored his half-century, his 29th T20I fifty for India, and his 10th in the World Cup T20.
Babar Azam, along with Mohammad Rizwan, was a man on a mission to score 152. It took him a while to get going. Still, once he got the hang of it, he took the game away from India with a typically well-placed 50 and carried his bat as Pakistan made history.
Pakistan record their first-ever win in ICC Men's T20 World Cup against India!🇵🇰🙌#WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/gsr5ooBcNe
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 24, 2021
