Pakistan ended India’s World Cup winning streak against them in astonishing fashion, humbling their arch rivals by 10 wickets to win their opening game at T20 World Cup.
India hadn’t lost to Pakistan in World Cup matches be it 50 or 20 overs.
29 years, 12 matches and 10 captains later Pakistan have finally ended the curse. Babar Azam one of the finest batsman of his generation, cemented his place as a true cricketing great and icon, becoming the first Pakistani captain to register a win over India at the World Cup.
Shaheen Shines
Winning the toss and putting India to bat was a significant moment and had an element of risk given Pakistan’s history in chases. Shaheen Afridi truly arrived at the biggest stage, delivering two unplayable balls to get rid of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul leaving India reeling at 6/2.
Captain Virat Kohli led the fightback with Surya Kumar Yadav, and then Rishabh Pant but Pakistan keep pegging them back with wickets regularly.
Haris Rauf bowled a tight spell and despite Kohli reaching his 50, India never got going. Kohli got out for the first time against Pakistan in T20 World Cup as Men in Blue could only score 151/7 in 20 overs.
Babar and Rizwan Script History.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been successful opening partnership for Pakistan in recent times and they took this opportunity to cement their iconic status.
Rizwan attacked from the get go taking on Bhuvneshwar Kumar hitting a 4 and six in the first over. With Babar Azam throwing caution to the wind, while being his flamboyant best, Pakistan dared to dream.
India’s spin aces Ravendra Jadeja and newbie Varun Chakravarthy proved futile as Rizwan and Babar took them to cleaners.
Rizwan and Babar both brought up their half centuries in quick succession. Babar Azam brought up his 50 with a six showcasing the confidence that had replaced the usual nerves Pakistan had in this fixture before.
And when Rizwan clobbered Mohammad Shami for a 6, and two boundaries Pakistan’s wildest dreams had turned to reality.
Fittingly it was Babar Azam who scored the winning runs to end a notorious streak and ensue bedlam for fans of Pakistan cricket. History was rewritten as Pakistan finally clinched their ‘Mauqa‘