Pakistan's reliable duo of Babar and Rizwan chased down the target after restricting India to 151/7
24 October, 2021
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan have defeated India by 10 wickets for the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup at Dubai International Stadium.
Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan cruised the run-chase without any hassle after they restricted arch-rivals to 151/7.
Pacer Shaheen Shah started the proceedings for Pakistan in some fashion after skipper Babar Azam opted to field first. He trapped India's vice-captain Rohit Sharma for a golden duck and rattled KL Rahul's stumps in his following over as India were teetering at 6/2.
Indian captain Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav (11) tried to bring India's innings back on track in the powerplay, after early wickets, but Hasan Ali struck in his first over to reduce India to 36/3 in six overs.
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Kohli paired with aggressive Risabh Pant for 53-run stand as India recovered well after the powerplay. Pant dominated briefly, hitting two sixes off Hasan but leg-spinner Shadab Khan sent him packing as he tried to accelerate. He fell after scoring a well-made 30-ball 39.
Pakistan kept Kohli quiet and things were under control after Pant's dismissal.
Ravindra Jadeja only managed to score run-a-ball 13 while Kohli reached fifty. He was dismissed in the 19th over by Shaheen for 57. The Indian captain hit five fours and a six in 49-ball innings.
India pushed past the score to 150 after some floppy piece of fielding in the last two overs by Pakistan. Shaheen bagged figures of 3 for 31 while Hasan conceded 44, in his four overs, for his two wickets. Haris Rauf impressed in the last overs, finishing with figures of 1/25.
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In return, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and Babar batted flawlessly from the start. The duo dominated the opposition with brilliant stroke-play and steered the run-chase without any trouble.
Babar reached to his fifty with a six off Varun Chakravarthy while Rizwan pulled Jasprit Bumrah for a four to reach the half-century. The total was chased down in the 18th over, bowled by Mohammad Shami.
Rizwan was the fierce one among the two, batting at a strike rate of 143.63 for his 55-ball 79. He stroked six fours and three sixes while Babar hit six fours and two maximums for his 68.
Shaheen was awarded player of the match for his high-class spell which set up a perfect platform for the win.
The Men in Green will now take on New Zealand on October 26 at the Sharjah International Stadium.
Twitter Reaction
What a win. Flawless. Kya baat hai. pic.twitter.com/zLPvCvkFn3
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 24, 2021
Mubarek to all what a win a complete performance in a big game. Super bowling spell by @iShaheenAfridi to set the game up and then a clinical run chase by our openers @babarazam258 and @iMRizwanPak shaheeno apne ker dikhaya.. #PakvsIndia @TheRealPCB @TheRealPCB 🇵🇰🇵🇰
— Azhar Ali (@AzharAli_) October 24, 2021
Moment we waited for so long! Congratulations Pakistan and thank you #PakCricketTeam #PakVsIndia pic.twitter.com/DEqiDvaoSy
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) October 24, 2021
