![]() At the post-match presentation, Kohli admitted that they were outplayed by Pakistan. India lost the battle all right, but the war (read, the tournament) is still to be won. They put India under pressure from the outset and never released it,” the former Pakistan captain told The Indian Express. “This is cricket and today was Pakistan’s day. India made a U-turn by completely ditching wrist spin against Pakistan.Īs he was leaving the stadium, Zaheer Abbas preferred to keep emotions at arm’s length. Mohammad Rizwan now gets in on the act, notches up his half-century □ #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK | /DA3uPgzkuzĪlso, as the two Pakistan openers gradually figured out Varun, and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t look potent in this game, Yuzvendra Chahal’s leg-spin was missed. On the heels of three consecutive T20 half-centuries, Kishan was probably well placed to make his good form count. Ishan Kishan fielded for him and in hindsight, the Indian team management might have missed a trick by not including him in the playing eleven at the expense of Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik Pandya was never going to bowl, and now there’s a question mark over his further participation in the tournament after being hit on the right shoulder while batting. And yet again, India missed a sixth bowler. Azam was class personified in his 68 not out off 52 balls. Rizwan strong-armed to an unbeaten 79 off 55 balls. That’s where basically the game was won and lost.Ī brilliant knock from the Pakistan skipper □ #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK | /hEgG00dr03 Pakistan’s Powerplay score was 43 for no loss vis-a-vis India’s 36/3. They stemmed the run-flow to start with, but Shami had a bad day at the office. Varun Chakravarthy, too, came with his mystery. Kohli was quick to bring Jasprit Bumrah into the attack. Mohammed Shami bowled the next over, landed one on good length, but Azam stood tall and unleashed a gorgeous cover drive. Rizwan took a four and a six off the medium pacer to get going. In stark contrast to Afridi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over was pedestrian. Pakistan’s innings was a heady mixture of Azam’s class and Rizwan’s smash. The Indian skipper leading from the front on the big occasion □ #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK | /NllRDJMH9aĪlso, not often does Kohli get overshadowed by opposition batsmen in limited-overs cricket after scoring a half-century. But the India captain had to take the game deep. A Kohli half-century with a strike rate of 116 is uncommon. ![]() But early wickets restricted him in terms of upping the ante. The only solace for the Indian fans here would be Kohli’s innings, how he weathered the storm and gradually returned to form, staying true to his conventional stroke-play. He was the showstopper, aided by a collective bowling performance from Haris Rauf to Shadab Khan in the middle overs. This was a game for Afridi to treasure, returning with the wickets of Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. Virat Kohli’s fine half-century and Rishabh Pant’s 39 off 30 balls saved India from more humiliation. Such a frontal assault was always going to force India on the back foot. KL Rahul was done in by another in-ducker, once again the ball shaping in and going through the gate. Then, Afridi arrived, firing on all cylinders. ![]() ![]() Pakistan’s intensity in their pre-match warm-up served as an indication about their resolve. On match eve, Azam had spoken about how records were meant to be broken. This was their crowning glory and India’s lowest point in this rivalry. But even in their halcyon days, Pakistan never beat India by 10 wickets. The arrogance that Azam and Rizwan oozed in chasing down the target offered a throwback to Javed Miandad’s dominance over India in the 1980s. On Sunday, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bowling would have made even Wasim Akram proud. Early days in the T20 World Cup, but it looked like Pakistan have come here to make a statement. Azam offered a silent prayer before the whole squad joined for a team huddle. Rizwan restricted his celebration to a fist pump. The reaction from the Pakistan openers after the victory suggested that they meant business. And yet, India were completely outplayed on the night. Also, they were defending a pretty modest 151/7. The evening dew in Dubai made the job difficult for the Indian bowlers. ![]()
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