After years of angst and pain, Pakistan finally pulled one back in their favour against arch-rivals India in a World Cup encounter this Sunday (October 24) in Dubai. Babar Azam & company defeated their neighbours by 10 wickets after an excellent performance with the ball, bat and in the field in the Super 12 fixture of T20 World Cup 2021.
Always known for playing exciting but inconsistent cricket, this was a different Pakistan on show. This team has displayed dominance and the ability to keep the nerves in check irrespective of the occasion.
Babar’s men needed a complete performance to beat a mighty juggernaut like India, and they got one this time in Dubai. In the most emphatic, an un-Pakistan like Pakistan victory, they conquered the India challenge without offering the opposition any window of opportunity.
It all started with the inspiring opening burst from left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who dismissed Indian openers Rohit Sharma (0) and KL Rahul (3) with two absolute peaches in the early half of the powerplay. Shaheen got Rohit out plumb LBW off a yorker for a first-ball duck and then got one to swing back into Rahul and dislodge his stumps.
Those early blows meant that India were always playing catch-up with Pakistan. For a brief moment, the way Shaheen was bowling, it seemed that this could be the day when India’s much-vaunted batting line-up would collapse. But once again, Indian skipper and batting great Virat Kohli produced the goods against Pakistan, scoring a measured 57 off 49 balls.
Without really looking at his best, the modern-day giant played such a significant knock in the context of the game at that stage. Kohli kick-off his innings with a six over long-on against Shaheen and made sure Pakistan don’t get any further wickets in the powerplay. He also hit five fours through his defiant innings.
The Indian captain stitched a wonderful partnership with young Rishabh Pant, whose contribution in taking India to a respectable score should not be lost on anyone. Pant had a strike-rate of 130 – which is low by his standards – but in sending the ball for a couple of fours and sixes and sneaking through for quick singles through his 30-ball 39, he ensured Kohli could avoid a high-risk stroke at his end and bat deep till he was dismissed off Shaheen.
Sadly, though, once Pant got out caught trying to hit Shadab Khan (1/22) away, the Indian innings lost its zing thereafter. Ravindra Jadeja (13) and Hardik Pandya (11) both struggled to get going in the crucial end-overs, and that meant that India finished with just 151/7.
Unlike India, Pakistan began fantastically and ended even better when they batted. Babar and his opener partner Mohammad Rizwan batted so brilliantly that India could never get in the game in the second half. They produced outstanding unbeaten half-centuries.
Rizwan played the aggressor while Babar looked to anchor the chase. The former was in the zone from the very beginning, whereas the latter took his time before breaking the shackles. It was a delightful partnership to watch, no matter if you were an Indian or a Pakistan fan.
Rizwan finished with 79* off 55 balls. Babar scored 68* off 52 deliveries in a run-chase where the two Pakistan gents showed admirable composure and calmness beyond the obvious ability to counter the Indian pacers and spinners.
India will be disappointed that two of their senior pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/25) and Mohammad Shami (0/45) could never exert any sense of pressure on the two Pakistan batters. That cost Kohli’s team massively as then their spinners – Jadeja (0/28) and Varun Chakravarthy (0/32) – had their work cut out in trying to enforce a few errors against set batters. Jasprit Bumrah (0/22) bowled the best of the lot.
Brief scores
India 151/7 in 20 overs (Kohli 57, Pant 39; Afridi 3/31) lost to Pakistan 152/0 in 17.5 overs (Rizwan 79*, Azam 68*; Jadeja 0/28) by 10 wickets
