DUBAI: Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan saw Pakistan through to victory against India, ending the Men In Green’s losing streak against Men In Blue in World Cups.
The Green Shirts were famous for their meltdowns against their arch-rivals in World Cup matches and had lost 12 straight matches to the Men in Blue.
They were again heavy underdogs heading into the game, with few giving them a chance. But they flipped the script and inflicted a chastening 10-wicket defeat on India. It was the first time either side had beaten the other by 10 wickets in a limited-overs fixture.
Chasing 152, captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan batted till start to finish as they made India’s ‘world class’ bowling attack look ordinary for once.
Babar (68) and wicket-keeper Rizwan (78) were able to complete the best partnership against India, posting the highest ever partnership for any wicket by any team against the Men In Blue in T20Is surpassing 133 by David Warner and Shane Watson.
India had handed Pakistan a 152-run target after Babar had decided to bowl first.
The Pakistani bowlers were on top of India, as they took quick wickets and sent Men In Blue’s batsmen packing. Shaheen Shah Afridi also, for the first time, dismissed Indian skipper Virat Kohli — who Pakistan never dismissed in a T20 World Cup.
India were not impressive with the bat, but Kohli played a captain’s innings as he scored 57 off 49 balls, while Rishabh Pant also added 39 runs to the total.
India were able to put up a total of 157 for the loss of seven wickets.
The two sides last clashed three years ago in the 2019 50-over World Cup.
—Agencies

KR Desk