T20 World Cup 2021: "2nd biggest game after the Ashes" - Michael Vaughan on India-Pakistan rivalry

Michael Vaughan and Wasim Jaffer [Image- CA]

As India and Pakistan locked horns in a high voltage T20 World Cup encounter at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night, former cricketers-turned-pundits Wasim Jaffer and Michael Vaughan engaged in yet another banter on Twitter.

With cricket fans glued to their television sets to witness the marquee clash between the two fierce Asian rivals, Jaffer took to his Twitter account where he wrote:

''Rest of the cricket world watching #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup''

Rest of the cricket world watching #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup 😏 https://t.co/MGYhPXWvpe

Vaughan then proceeded to remind Jaffer that it was not the biggest game in the world of cricket as the former England skipper went on to underline the importance of the Ashes.

''2nd biggest game after the Ashes .. Looking forward to it Wasim 👍,'' he wrote.

2nd biggest game after the Ashes .. Looking forward to it Wasim 👍 twitter.com/wasimjaffer14/…

Meanwhile, Pakistan won the toss and Babar Azam had no hesitation in inserting the Indian batters given the possibility of dew during the second innings.

Shaheen breaths fire but Virat's calmness guides India to 151/7

Pakistan got off to a near perfect start as star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi knocked over both openers in Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul cheaply.

Afridi dismissed Sharma for a golden duck as he pinned the stylish opener with an inswinging yorker. Rohit tried to flick the ball on the leg-side but ended up getting pinned stone dead plumb.

A perfect delivery by Shaheen Afridi to dismiss Rohit Sharma. https://t.co/Qy14zgnlLS

Rahul was the next to go as Afridi breached the gap between his bat and pad with a vicious inswinger.

It all looked doom and gloom for the Men in Blue when Suryakumar Yadav nicked off to Mohammad Rizwan off the bowling of Hasan Ali, leaving the former champions reeling at 31/3 inside the powerplay.

But, as is quite often the case, skipper Virat Kohli once again rose to the occasion when it mattered the most as he anchored the innings beautifully.

Virat Kohli becomes the batsman with Most 5️⃣0️⃣+ scores (1️⃣0️⃣) in T20 World Cups. 👏🏻👏🏻

Another day, another record for Captain Kohli! 🤩🔥

#PlayBold #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup #INDvPAK https://t.co/lc6wY6DrO7

Rishabh Pant also played a crucial knock during the middle overs. The southpaw looked fidgety at the start but once he got his eye in, he smashed Ali for a couple of one-handed sixes.

He was eventually dismissed by Shadab Khan for a 30-ball 39.

🇮🇳 finish on 1️⃣5️⃣1️⃣/7️⃣, with major contributions from Captain Kohli and Rishabh Pant.

Let’s back our bowlers to do the job now! 💪🏻

#PlayBold #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup #INDvPAK https://t.co/Ksf8Cw8kgo

Kohli continued on his merry way and brought up his third consecutive T20 World Cup half-century before Shaheen dismissed him for 57 in the 19th over.

Jadeja and Hardik failed to provide the death overs flourish and India eventually ended up with 151 runs in 20 overs.