IND vs PAK, World Cup 2023: They had the momentum on their side with two consecutive victories, but Pakistan still needed to find a way to beat inconsistency if they are to present their case for a place in the top four of the ongoing ICC World Cup. On Saturday, against a high quality Indian attack, the Men-in-Green crumbled under pressure to lose eight wickets in a span of 36 runs, and were eventually bowled out for a paltry 191 in 42.5 overs.
In response, India didn’t get a desired start as opener Shubman Gill (16 off 11) hit Shaheen Afridi straight to Shadab Khan on the second last ball of the third over. However, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stitched a quick 56-run partnership to take India closer to 191. Hasan Ali struck in the 10th over to send Kohli back to pavilion but that didn’t deter Rohit from his onslaught as he hit his second consecutive fifty off just 36 balls.
Rohit looked all set for a world cup hundred against arch-rivals until Shaheen Afridi deceived him with a slower off cutter. He scored 86 off just 63 balls. Shreyas Iyer also slammed a half century as India hammered Pakistan by 7 wickets.
It felt like jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium had emptied out when Pakistan began with a 41-run opening stand with the openers crunching boundaries off the new ball. The only sound one could potentially hear was the rustle of people fanning themselves with the cardboard handouts meant for celebratory waving.
The crowd went full decibel once Mohammad Siraj pinned Abduallah Shafique with a skiddy one, and joined the bowler in the appeal, before erupting when the umpire agreed.
The ground is nearly full, as expected, and all blue, with 1,10000 people acting as India’s 12th man, cheering every appeal, leave alone the wickets that fell in heaps once Siraj broke the 82-run flourishing partnership between skipper Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan.
For Pakistan, Babar Azam’s return to form with a sedate half century was probably the only high point of their rather ordinary batting display against a full-strength Indian attack. While Babar slammed a 58-ball 50, Rizwan missed his half century by one run before being castled by Jasprit Bumrah, to trigger the collapse after being comfortably placed at 155 for 2.
Saud Shakeel (6), Iftikhar Ahmed (4), Shadab Khan (2), Mohammed Nawaz (4) all fell for single digits, bringing in more cheer for the Indian team. For India, Bumrah, Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a couple of wickets each.
Babar booed by crowd during toss
Earlier, Pakistan captain Babar Azam was booed by the crowd at the Narendra Modi stadium during the toss on Saturday. The moment Babar stepped out for the toss, the crowd started chants of ‘India, India’. Thereafter, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first.
However, the moment Babar started speaking, the crowd started their loud jeers and boos. The Pakistan captain smiled lightly and said he would enjoy this crowd.