Pakistan crushed archrival India by 10 wickets for its first-ever victory against its archrival in a T20 World Cup game on Sunday.
Captain Babar Azam (68 not out) and Mohammad Rizwan (79 not out) struck superb unbeaten half centuries and eased Pakistan to 152-0 in 17.5 overs in Group 2 of the Super 12s.
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Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (3-31) had earlier rattled India’s top order by removing both openers — Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul — in his first two overs before skipper Virat Kohli’s 57 off 49 balls took the 2007 champion to 151-7.
Babar won the toss and opted to chase. The decision paid off as Rizwan toyed with Indian bowlers as they struggled with the wet ball when dew settled in the second half of the game.
It was Pakistan’s first-ever victory by 10 wickets against any opposition in a T20 while India also faced the ignominy of losing by such a margin for the first time.
“This is just the start, we have confidence to build on now,” Babar said after his side’s historic win. “It will remain match by match for us.”
“The pressure on us wasn’t that much – we weren’t thinking of the record against India at all. I only wanted to back all our players who’ve been preparing well.
“When you play tournaments before a big World Cup, it helps and our players came in with a lot of confidence because of that.”
The result was a massive blow to the tournament favourites India, with Kohli lamenting the loss of early wickets during his side’s batting powerplay.
“We did not execute the things that we wanted to but credit is certainly due – they outplayed us today,” he said.
“When you lose three early it’s very difficult to come back, especially when you know the dew is coming.
“They were very professional with the bat as well. Hitting through the line was not as easy in the first half as it seemed in the Pakistan innings, so when you know the conditions can change, you need 10-20 extra runs. But some quality bowling from Pakistan didn’t let us get off the blocks.
“We’re certainly not a team that presses the panic button, it’s the start of the tournament, not the end.”
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