Imperious Pakistan produce perfect display to beat India

Pakistan had never beaten India in a global tournament coming into their competition opener, but they outplayed Virat Kohli's side throughout

Dubai: India 151-7, Pakistan 152-0 - Pakistan win by 10 wickets

Scorecard

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan both made half centuries as Pakistan produced a fine all-round performance to beat India in their first T20 World Cup match.

Pakistan had never beaten India in a global tournament coming into their competition opener, but they outplayed a side whose players had the advantage of warming up in the Indian Premier League, which only finished earlier this month.

But after Babar won the toss and elected to chase, Shaheen Shah Afridi set the tone with a quite remarkable opening salvo, trapping Rohit Sharma on the toe with a rasping yorker with the first ball that the Mumbai Indians captain faced, before making a mess of KL Rahul’s stumps with a rip-snorting in-swinger that squirted between bat and pad.

That India recovered from 9 for 2 was for the most part down to their captain, Virat Kohli, who played impeccably in trying circumstances against a bowling attack that gave away almost nothing.

Even Hasan Ali, who was the most expensive Pakistani bowler, enticed Suryakumar Yadav to edge behind shortly after having hooked Afridi for six. It meant that India had lost three wickets in the powerplay, an often-fatal statistic for batting teams.

^{Shaheen Shah Afridi set up a famous win for Pakistan}

They counterattacked thereafter through Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who hit two outrageous sixes – both with one hand off the bat – as India rebuilt a platform for their finishers. But Pant was caught and bowled by Shadab Khan for 39 as he looked to slog-sweep over the legside, before Ravindra Jadeja was caught to give Ali his second scalp.

Meanwhile, Kohli brought up his fifty as his team’s anchor – the innings’ crowning glory being a slap off the back foot over extra cover. That he faced 49 deliveries for his 57 said far more about the quality of bowling than any inability to rotate strike.

He eventually became Afridi’s third victim, edging behind a slower-ball bouncer, before Afridi put a rare blot on his copybook, bowling a no ball that was hit for four before missing a shy at the stumps on the free hit and conceding four overthrows.

Hardik Pandya added 11 in eight balls after coming to the crease with 2.1 overs to go, though he suffered a shoulder problem that forced him to go for a precautionary scan, with Ishan Kishan taking the field instead for the second innings.

Rizwan and Babar then took to the field, knocking off the runs with an imperious ease, severe through the legside and typically eye-catching through the off-side. A game that was neck-and-neck at the halfway stage became a procession, with India losing a T20I by 10 wickets for the first time, with Pakistan winning by 10 wickets for the first time.

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