T20 World Cup 2021: Pakistan stuns India with a 10-wicket win

The opening-duo have displayed an absolute masterclass in the high pressure run chase. The target never looked out of reach during the chase as the Pakistani opening pair looked always in control of the required run-rate.

Asked to bat by Pakistan skipper, India has posted a competitive total of 151-7 in 20 overs as Virat Kohli shined with a half-century and also helped by Rishabh Pant’s gritty 39.

In reply, Pakistan was off to a steady start as the two openers added 43-0 in 6 overs, at the end of powerplay.

When it came to first innings, India’s in-form openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul fell early as Shaheen Afridi’s fierce spell of bowling caught the star-studded Indian batting line-up off guard.

Suryakumar Yadav soon followed the openers back to pavilion before Rishabh Pant joined Virat Kohli (57) to consolidate the innings. However, Pant’s gritty innings didn’t last long as Shadab Khan struck, removing the left-hander for 39 (30).

For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowling line up, scalping 3 crucial wickets for just 31 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Hasan Ali was quite expensive during the innings. The rest of the bowlers kept it tight and chipped away at India’s wickets, not allowing the men-in-blue to post a big score.

India and Pakistan renewed their high-profile but one-sided cricket rivalry today in a T20 World Cup blockbuster watched by hundreds of millions of fans across the globe.

It was the first time the two nations had clashed since the 50-over World Cup in 2019.

Playing XI of both teams:

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.