T20 World Cup 2021: In a first in WC match, Pakistan thrash India by 10 wickets
CHENNAI: Let us start by stating the obvious. Pakistan have finally beaten India at the men's World Cup. It is a sentence that hasn't been printed ever before.
After seven 50-over World Cups and six T20 World Cups, they got off the mark at the Dubai Sports City on Sunday, beating Virat Kohli & Co by 10 wickets to begin their campaign on a victorious note. And standing tall in the end was their captain Babar Azam, who managed to get the monkey off the back and achieve what not even Imran Khan achieved - beat an Indian team in a World Cup.
When ever these two teams met at World Cups, even during the heydays of Pakistan team in the 90s and early 2000s, they always let emotions take control of the occasion. It has led to comic mix-ups, dropped catches and mis-fields. Their best pacers have ended up losing the plot.
Their best batters have wilted under pressure chasing moderate totals. The current team, led by Babar, may not have the big names but they are definitely beaming with some young gems and there is none better than Shaheen Shah Afridi, who got Pakistan off to a dream start.
At 6ft 6in, the 21-year-old may have an imposing figure, but without a beard and moustache, he still looks like the shy boy who grew up in Khyber district of Peshawar that borders Afghanistan. He may not be the life of a party, but with his yorkers - delivered from an high-arm action - and ability to bring the ball slightly back into the right-handers, he can definitely bring contests alive.
Not that this rivalry needed anything. But for a contest that has been restricted to only global events, it was the sort of performance that will add gloss. Bowling full in powerplay is his biggest strength and India should have done their homework.
Everyone saw what was coming. Except Kohli & Co. Off the fourth ball of the first over, he removed Rohit Sharma with a delivery that just about angled in. The opener was still planning to work it over to mid-wicket before he was beaten for pace as the ball crashed onto his pads. Full.
The umpire only had to raise his finger for customary purposes. It was stone-dead plumb. India 1/1. In the first ball of his second over, he again breached the defence of the in-form KL Rahul, who totally played down the wrong line. India 6/2 inside three overs.
Pakistan had their tails up. They have seldom got this kind of start against India and they looked in no mood to throw it away. Their fielders didn't do anything silly. Whenever the ball went up in the air, there was a green shirt not only waiting under it, but also ensured it was not grassed. And it was not until the 19th over, when Afridi conceded four overthrows, did they commit an error.
Given the start India had, they did an admiring job to put 151 on board and that was largely thanks to their captain Virat Kohli, who top-scored with 57 off 49 deliveries. On a pitch where others struggled, it was his innings that stopped India from crumbling.
With Afridi still breathing fire, he broke the shackles by hitting him for a six. With No 4 Suryakumar Yadav dismissed soon after, he dropped anchor in search of a par total that would keep India in the game. Rishabh Pant played a cameo for 39 but none of them could break-free on a two-paced pitch.
The target for Pakistan was at least 20 short of a par-total. And India needed quick wickets to be in the game. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan thwarted any such hopes as their respective fifties carried Pakistan to a new territory that they have never been.
Brief scores: India: 151/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 57, Rishabh Pant 39; Shaheen Afridi 3/31) lost to Pakistan: 152 for no loss in 17.5 overs (Babar Azam 68 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 79 not out)