Pakistan produced a near-perfect performance which should serve both as a reminder and motivation for the future generation of their players, as a 10-wicket hammering of their arch rivals India helped them kick-start their campaign in the Cricket T20 World Cup 2021 in the best possible manner on Sunday night in Dubai.
Until this game, Pakistan had always finished second best to India in all of their meetings in the Cricket World Cup tournaments. But after enduring decades of disappointment of not being able to get the better of their arch rivals, Pakistan finally managed to produce a performance that will be remembered for several generations to come.
The opening pair of Pakistan captain Babar Azam and their charismatic wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan put on an unbeaten 152-runs stand to defy the Indians, who had earlier struggled with the bat right from the start when lanky left-arm Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi turned up the heat with a couple of wickets.
Afridi shocked the Indian batting star Rohit Sharma (0x1b) with a full-pitched delivery which moved from the line of off-middle to middle-leg in the first over of the game, with the batsman’s feet awkwardly placed in front of the wickets. There was nothing that Rohit could have done against that delivery which handed him a first-ball duck, and a dream start to Pakistan.
Afridi struck again when KL Rahul (3x8b) played one across the line and the ball deflected from his inside edge onto his wickets, handing the other Indian opener another embarrassing dismissal to deal with. India were desperate for a revival after being reduced to 6/2 inside the first three overs.
Later, Afridi was named the Man of the Match for his stunning spell of 4-0-31-3.
Suryakumar Yadav struck a few promising strokes to lead a minor revival in the company of Virat Kohli, but Hasan Ali kept Pakistan on the top when he removed the Mumbai and India batsman for 11. India had collapsed to 31/3 in 5.4 overs, and this was when the pair of Kohli and Rishabh Pant teamed up to take India forward.
Kohli and Pant added 53 runs for the fourth wicket in which the latter played the role of the aggressor. Pant hit a couple of one-handed sixes and also got two boundaries to score 39 from 30 balls, but his dismissal in the 13th over came at a very wrong time for India. Ravindra Jadeja was promoted ahead of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, but he also disappointed with a run-a-ball 13.
Pandya suffered a blow to his shoulder and was taken to the hospital for mandatory scans after he made an 8-ball 11 not out, post which he did not take field for India and was substituted by Ishan Kishan.
Kohli was the star of the Indian innings. After witnessing the dismissals of Rohit and Rahul early on, who both stood at the crease and did not pose any counter to the swing that Afridi generated, the India captain Kohli stood outside the crease to negate any movement of the ball in the air.
Kohli has been a consistent performer for India against Pakistan in Cricket T20I events, and the story remained the same on Sunday night. The India captain scored a calculated and risk-free 57 from 49 balls with 5 fours and 1 six, which helped his side post a total of 151/7 in 20 overs.
Having seen the swing that the Pakistani bowlers generated from the new ball and the fact that the star-studded Indian batting line-up had struggled for timing and momentum on a fresh Dubai pitch, it looked like India had enough to challenge the Pakistan batsmen.
But little did anyone know what lay ahead. Never before in their history had Pakistan won a T20I game by 10 wickets and never before in their history had India lost by such a colossal margin.
But that was to change on Sunday night, thanks to the pair of Babar and Rizwan.
Unlike the Indian batsmen, the Pakistani duo of Babar and Rizwan — who also have most runs as a pair as well as on individual basis in T20Is this year — did not struggle. In fact, Pakistan were off to a flier and the fact that India did not have a daunting total to defend, the pressure kept rising on India constantly who failed to find a breakthrough.
Rizwan took his T20I tally of runs in the year 2021 past 800-mark with an unbeaten 79 from only 55 balls, striking 3 sixes and 6 fours. At the other end, Babar remained undefeated on 68 from 52 balls with 2 sixes and 6 fours, producing a performance which demolished the confidence of the Indian bowlers completely.
Mohammad Shami had a forgettable outing in particular, with the lead and senior India bowler pulverised for 43 runs in 3.5 overs. The best among the lot was Jadeja, who returned with 4-0-28-0.
The Pakistanis were clinical on SUnday night. For a team ridiculed for their unpredictability and fallible traits particularly in big matches, Pakistan looked like a bunch on a mission. They did not drop any catch, their fielders threw themselves around with a motive to stop the ball at any cost, and finally with the bat, the Pakistanis pierced the field with precision and hit sixes for fun — something that looked laborious for the Indians when they batted.
Having kicked-off their campaign with a historic and monumental win, Pakistan will face yet another stern test against New Zealand on Tuesday night at Sharjah. On the other hand, India will have a few days’ time to ponder and recover from such a massive defeat. The Indians will next be seen on the field on Sunday, October 31, when they take on the Kiwis in Group 2 match at Dubai.
