PAK win by 10 wickets, beat IND for the 1st time in WC history
Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in Dubai to get off to a winning start in the tournament.Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, at the start of the chase got Pakistan off to a brisk start in Dubai. The duo guided the side to 46/0 after 7 overs.
They brought up yet another 50 run stand between them as continue to push India onto the backfoot. At the halfway mark, they took Pakistan to 71/0.
The two then brought up their 100-run stand, and Babar Azam smashed 50, as Pakistan reached 101/0 after 13 overs. Eventually Rizwan also brought up his fifty and remained unbeaten on 79, alongside Babar’s 68 not-out, as Pakistan romped home with 2.1 overs to spare.
India have set Pakistan a target of 152 in 20 overs. After being put in to bat, Team India got off to the worst start possible. Rohit Sharma was trapped LBW on 0 by Shaheen Afridi in the first over. He was gone for a golden duck. In his next over, Afridi then removed KL Rahul on 3 by disturbing his timber.
At 4, Suryakuamr Yadav played a few shots and got the scoreboard ticking but in the 6th over, he was dismissed by Hasan Ali.
Eventually, India reached 36/3 after the Powerplay. In the next four overs, India scored 24 to keep the run-rate up. Thanks to Rishabh Pant upping the ante and Kohli playing second fiddle, India began their comeback. He hit two one-handed sixes before being caught and bowled by Shadab Khan.
India got to 100/4 after 15 overs. Eventually, after Kohli got to his 29th T20I fifty, India posted 151/6 in their 20 overs. Kohli was dismissed for 57.
IND vs PAK T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli, IND captain, speaks
“We didn’t execute properly. Credit where it’s due and Pakistan outplayed us today. They started brilliantly with the ball, and 3 wickets for 20 runs was not a good start. We needed wickets early but with the bat they gave us absolutely no chances. It played slow in the first half and hitting through the line was not that easy as it was in the second half, after 10 overs. We needed those 15-20 extra runs an for that we needed a good start but Pakistan’s bowling didn’t allow us to get those extra runs. We could make the argument of getting in another slower bowler, but it’s important to stay composed and understand our strengths because with the dew the slower bowlers couldn’t be effective either. This is just the first game of the tournament, not the last.”
Shaheen Afridi, Man of the Match, speaks to the broadcasters
“It is the good wishes of my parents and all Pakistanis. Very happy with my performance. The plan was to bring the ball back in. I was just trying to swing it and I was just looking to give the team a breakthrough. That was what I practiced in the nets as well yesterday. Batting against the new ball was tough. The credit goes to Babar and Rizwan for the way they played. All teams are good in the tournament and we will look to carry this momentum through and go to the finals.
