T20 World Cup 2021: Sensational Pakistan crush timid India by 10 wickets

A superb opening spell by Shaheen Afridi and a brilliant opening stand between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan enabled Pakistan to end their barren spell against India in World Cups.

Pakistan bowled first after winning the toss in Match 16 of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai. Afridi (3/31) dismissed Indian openers Rohit Sharma (0) and KL Rahul (3) in his first two overs to peg India back.

Virat Kohli’s half-century helped India to recover and post 151 for 7. However, Pakistan openers Azam (68* off 52) and Rizwan (79* off 55) crushed India’s hopes as the chasing team romped home in 17.5 overs.

Pakistan's openers got off to an excellent start in their chase of 152, easing their way to 43 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. Rizwan clipped the second ball of the innings from Bhuvneshwar Kumar past midwicket for four. The next delivery was clobbered over square leg for a maximum.

Babar Azam got his first boundary with a gorgeous punch past cover off Mohammed Shami. Two more fours followed in the Indian pacer’s next over as the runs kept flowing and Pakistan’s openers did not look in any sort of trouble. The boundaries dried up after the introduction of spinners. However, Pakistan still brought up their fifty in the 8th over.

Just as India seemed to be building some pressure, Azam decided to take on India’s slow bowlers. After slapping a short ball from Ravindra Jadeja for a maximum over deep midwicket, he slashed Varun Chakravarthy for a four between point and short third man.

Rizwan survived a close run-out chance as his bat was in the air while diving in his attempt to reach the crease. Luckily for him, the bat was grounded by the time the throw hit the stumps. Pakistan were 71 for no loss at the halfway stage, and in complete control of the chase.

In the 13th over, Rizwan slapped Chakravarthy for a maximum over deep midwicket. Azam brought up his fifty in the same over in emphatic style, smacking a long-hop over the midwicket for a six. Not long after, Rizwan also reached his half-century, spanking Jasprit Bumrah for a four past midwicket.

The end came with a flurry of boundaries off Shami to mark the completion of India’s embarrassingly tame display.

---

Kohli fifty lifts India to 151 for 7 after Afridi’s early strikes

Indian captain Virat Kohli in action against Pakistan. Pic: Getty Images

Skipper Virat Kohli played a defiant knock of 57 as India recovered from 31 for 3 to post a challenging 151 for 7. Shaheen Afridi (3/31) got Pakistan off to a sensational start, sending back Rohit Sharma (0) and KL Rahul (3). However, Kohli and Rishabh Pant (39 off 30) ensured India ended with a fighting total.

Pakistan bowled first after winning the toss and Afridi gave the team early joy, trapping Rohit lbw for a first-ball duck. The Indian opener had no answer to a yorker-length delivery that tailed in late and struck him dead in front of the stumps.

Rahul was cleaned up with a length delivery that shaped in and crashed through the batter’s defence as he got into a tangle trying to play around it. Suryakumar Yadav came in and smashed Afridi for a six that just cleared deep square leg. However, his poor run continued as he perished for 11, brilliantly caught behind off Hasan Ali’s bowling as he took a waft at one that nipped away.

Pant and Kohli did a good job of giving the innings some momentum. After swiping Shadab Khan over short fine leg for four in the ninth over, Pant found another boundary by scything Mohammad Hafeez past backward point.

India reached 60 for 3 at the halfway stage. In the 12th over of the innings, Pant gave the Indian fans two moments of brilliance by slamming consecutive one-handed sixes off Ali. After smashing one over deep square leg, he deposited the next over long-off.

Pant’s innings ended on 39 as he completely miscued a googly from Shadab and was caught smartly by the bowler himself. Kohli, who was forced to patiently occupy one end, got some relief when he clipped a leg side delivery from Haris Rauf to the fine leg boundary.

In the 16th over of the innings, he smacked two fours off Ali as India began adding some crucial runs. A short ball was helped round the corner to short fine leg while a length delivery was handsomely driven past extra cover.

Kohli brought up a hard-fought fifty off 45 balls before becoming Afridi’s third victim. The Indian captain top-edged a slower bouncer as he was too early into his attempted pull. Ravindra Jadeja (13) and Hardik Pandya (11) perished in their endeavor to find the big hits.

A needless overthrow from Afridi in the penultimate over gifted India four extra runs. Although there was no final flourish, India managed to cross the 150-mark with some hard running.

---

India vs Pakistan: Who won Player of the Match in yesterday's T20 World Cup 2021 match?

Afridi came up with a spectacular bowling spell. He bowled a near-unplayable delivery to Rohit before cleaning up Rahul. The Pakistan pacer also sent back Kohli before he could cause further damage.

Azam and Rizwan were superb for Pakistan in the chase. Their fifties made victory a breeze for Pakistan.

For India, captain Kohli made a hard-fought fifty while Pant contributed a valuable 39.

Afridi was named Player of the Match for his superb spell at the start, which set the tone of the match.