India fired from all cylinders in what was supposed to be a war without shooting, blowing away arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets in a World Cup face-off that ended in a damp squib after causing unbridled hysteria and logistical hassles.
In what was seen as the pinnacle of cricket by fans in the subcontinent, Indian captain Rohit Sharma emerged as the undisputed star of the match, scoring a 63-ball 86 to power his team to the modest target of 192 with as many as 19.3 overs to spare.
Rohit Sharma missed out on his century as Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi dismissed him on 85. The crowds of Ahmedabad gave a standing ovation to his great innings and now KL Rahul has joined the chase with Shreyas Iyer.
Rohit Sharma smashed his second consecutive half-century and leading India’s run chase. Hasan Ali dismissed Virat Kohli to end the big partnership and Shreyas Iyer joined his skipper to continue to 192-run chase.
Livemint.com reports that Indian team started the 192-run chase on great note as opener Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed boundaries. Shaheen Afridi made a come back in the game as he dismissed Shubman Gill. Virat Kohli has joined the chase with Rohit Sharma and the two most experienced batters are punishing Pakistan bowlers.
Indian bowlers dominated the game completely as they triggered a collapse in Pakistan innings. The Babar Azam-led squad was going well till 30 overs, but as pacer Mohammed Siraj ended the big partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, the batting collapsed and the team is all-out on a low score of 191 runs.
Pakistan batting is collapsing under pressure as Indian bowlers continue to clinch wickets. First Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed to put Pakistan batters into pressure and then Jasprit Bumrah clinched Muhammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan’s wicket.
Mohammed Siraj provided team India with a breakthrough in the crucial Ind vs Pak match as he dismissed Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. The partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan ends and India is back in the match. Saud Shakeel has joined Muhammad Rizwan.
India bowlers started on a good note as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Abdullah Shafique and Hardik Pandya took out Imam-ul-Haq to provide strong start to the team. But, now the duo of Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan are on crease and India knows it can be dangerous.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are leading India’s attack and Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq will have a big score in mind on the pitch of Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Rohit Sharma-led Indian Cricket team is all set to face their arch-rivals Pakistan in the nail-biting match in the ICC Men’s World Cup tournament at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 14 October from 2 pm onwards.
Looking at the current stats, both India and Pakistan have played two matches each in this ICC Men’s World Cup tournament and won them both. This is the eighth meeting between India and Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and Pakistan are yet to beat India in World Cups.