India vs Pakistan: What happened in yesterday’s match at 2023 World Cup?
India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in yesterday’s 2023 World Cup match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With the triumph, the Men in Blue extended their unbeaten streak against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup to eight matches and also went to the top of the 2023 World Cup points table.
In a dominant display, India bowled first after winning the toss and bundled out for Pakistan for 191 in 42.5 overs. The batting side were reasonably placed at 155/2 in the 30th over, but suffered a stunning collapse, which saw them lose eight wickets for merely 36 runs.
In the chase, India lost Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli for 16. However, skipper Rohit Sharma stood tall again, top-scoring with 86 off 63 balls. He added 77 for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer (53* off 62) as India cruised to victory in 30.3 overs.
Pakistan got off to a reasonable start with the bat as their openers added 41 in eight overs. The partnership was broken when Mohammed Siraj trapped Abdullah Shafique (20) leg before with a cross-seam delivery that kept low. Imam-ul-Haq scored 36 before playing a loose drive outside off, nicking one from Hardik Pandya to the keeper.
Pakistan consolidated courtesy of their seniors as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who added 82 for the third wicket. Just when the duo was looking dangerous, Siraj knocked over Babar for 50 off 58 as the batter tried to run a delivery down to third man. It all went haywire for Pakistan from that point.
Kuldeep Yadav struck twice in the 33rd over. He first trapped Saud Shakeel (6) lbw as the batter missed his clip stroke. Iftikhar Ahmed (4) was then bowled round his legs. He attempted a sweep off a googly, but the ball hit his gloves and went on to dislodge the stumps.
Jasprit Bumrah ended Mohammad Rizwan’s resistance for 49 with a slower ball that came back in sharply and breached the batter’s defense. Shadab Khan (2) was then knocked over by another brilliant delivery from Bumrah that would have claimed a number of top order batters.
Mohammad Nawaz (4), Hasan Ali (12) and Haris Rauf (2) could not offer much resistance as India wrapped up Pakistan’s innings much earlier than expected.
Rohit Sharma guides India’s chase with aggressive knock
Chasing 192, Gill fell for 16, slashing Shaheen Afridi to backward point. Kohli looked for before he miscued a short of length delivery from Hasan Ali to mid-on. Rohit and Shreyas, however, ensured there were no further hiccups in the chase.
The Indian captain, who scored a blazing hundred against Afghanistan, batted aggressively again, striking six fours and as many sixes. He missed out on three figures as he was foxed by a slower ball from Afridi.
Following Rohit’s exit, Shreyas brought up the winning runs and his maiden ODI World Cup fifty, smacking Mohammad Nawaz down the ground for a boundary.
Who was the Player of the Match in India vs Pakistan 2023 World Cup match?
Five Indian bowlers, Bumrah, Siraj, Pandya, Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets each. With the bat, Rohit and Shreyas struck fine half-centuries.
For Pakistan, Babar scored 50, while Rizwan contributed 49. Afridi dismissed Gill and Rohit in India’s chase.
Bumrah was named Player of the Match for his excellent figures of 2/19 from seven overs.