On Sunday (24 October) night, Pakistan created history by defeating India in a World Cup match for the first time, ending a cruel jinx that began in 1992.
The Green Shirts were known for their World Cup meltdowns against their arch-rivals, having lost 12 consecutive matches to the Men in Blue. Pakistan, during this match, changed the script and handed India a humiliating 10-wicket defeat. It was the first time in a limited-overs match that either team had defeated the other by 10 wickets.
Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan batted from start to finish, making India’s ‘world-class’ bowling attack appear average for the first time.
Indian captain Virat Kohli admitted after the match that his squad “did not execute the things that we intended to do, but credit is deserved, they outplayed us today. They were very professional with the bat as well but we’re certainly not a team that presses the panic button, it’s the start of the tournament, not the end. It’s not over yet.”
“We executed our plans well, and the early wickets were quite helpful,” Azam said after his victory. Additionally, he also said that “The plan with Rizwan was to keep it simple. We tried to get deep in the crease and from about the eighth over, the dew came in and the ball came on nicely. This is just the start, we have [the] confidence to build on this win.”
Details of the Match
Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi got three wickets, including captain Kohli for 57 runs, but India only scored 151 runs in their Twenty20 World Cup match.
In the Super 12s match in Dubai, left-arm fast bowler Shahid Afridi recorded figures of 3-31 during a lethal first spell to damage India after they opted to field first.
Kohli helped the squad regroup by scoring his 29th T20 fifty before being caught behind by Afridi, who removed the star batsman for the first time in a World Cup game.
With a quick delivery that swung in to catch Rohit Sharma lbw for a first-ball duck, Afridi struck the first blow, and the spinner celebrated with his famous open-arm gesture.
Kohli entered to wild acclaim from the 20,000-strong Indian audience, who were quickly quiet by another ripper from Afridi in his second over.
The 1.98-meter bowler got KL Rahul with a crisp delivery that took the batsman’s thigh pad and rattled the stumps.
Kohli and new batter Suryakumar Yadav tried to respond with some positive shots, each hitting Afridi for a six.
With quick bowler Hasan Ali hitting in his first over, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan took a wonderful diving catch to end Yadav’s time at the wicket. Yadav scored 11 points.
In the middle, Rishabh Pant joined Kohli, and the left-right batting partnership rebuilt the innings, taking India to 60-3 after 10 overs.
Wishes on the Victory
Prime Minister Imran Khan was also watching the T20 match between Pakistan and India. Furthermore, Imran Khan congratulated the team and posted on Twitter. He said, “Congratulations to the Pakistan Team & esp to Babar Azam who led from the front, as well as to the brilliant performances of Rizwan & Shaheen Afridi. The nation is proud of you all.”
In addition, Sheikh Rasheed also recorded a special for the Pakistani team and all of Pakistan,
Maryam Nawaz also retweeted a video in which the father of Babar Azam is crying fur to the unimaginable victory of the Pakistani team.
Along with this, many people congratulated the team:
Shaheen Afridi also posted on his Twitter account and said, “Humbled, Alhumdulillah. This MoM was not possible without the love and support of my fans and family. Special shout to my ami ji, Abu ji, and brothers for their selfless prayers and trust.”
Babar Azam, Captain of the National Cricket team of Pakistan also posted on Twitter and said, “This is for you, Pakistan.”
