It was a clinical performance from Pakistan as they finally broke the deadlock and beat India for the first-time ever in T20 World Cups. In some ways, the law of averages struck India who won five previous games in heading into this game in Dubai. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan added an unbeaten 152 as Pakistan aced the chase with 13 balls to spare and won by 10 wickets.
Rizwan scored a free-flowing 79 with Babar scoring an unbeaten 68 to chase down the target after their bowlers set up the game for them perfectly. As opposed to the Pakistan bowlers, the Indian bowlers failed to extract any help off the wicket. Both the batsmen mixed caution with aggression as the Indian bowlers had no answer to their intent on winning the game.
The match was set up by Shaheen Shah Afridi who took two wickets inside the powerplay. He dismissed Rohit Sharma for a first-ball duck and KL Rahul for 3 to get India reeling at 31/3 inside the powerplay. Virat Kohli scored 57 and along with Rishabh Pant (39) tried to take India to a par score.
Lack of contributions from the lower order meant that India could not set the target they wanted. Meanwhile, both Babar and Rizwan made an easy task off the target playing some good-looking shots throughout their innings.
Twitter meanwhile congratulated Pakistan on registering a historic win against India. The Indian fans meanwhile, had a day to forget after their team’s winning streak finally came to an end.
This is how Twitter reacted to Pakistan beating India
The PERFECT selfie!! ššš pic.twitter.com/UO8wJXdRdN
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 24, 2021
Well played, #Pak Played all-round better cricket and that wasnāt just a win, it was a loud message to all the teams in the #T20WorldCup that they are a serious contenders for the trophy š in these conditions.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 24, 2021
You could argue very well that @babarazam258 is the best player in the world across all formats ā¦ #indiaVsPakistan #T20WorldCup
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 24, 2021
Been saying it for a long time but @iMRizwanPak is the best Bat/Wk in the world. Lovely scenes and the mutual respect between both sides is great to see. For @TheRealPCB this is amazing but only one game in a long Comp, for @BCCI they will bounce back no doubt. š
— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) October 24, 2021
Congratulations team Pakistan. Great moment for all the Pakistanis around the world. Enjoy the win. A wonderful start to the tournament. Hopefully we can continue like this.
— Junaid khan 83 (@JunaidkhanREAL) October 24, 2021
PAKISTAN FANS YEH HAI AAP KA MAUKA.
BELIEVE!! SO PROUD OF MY TEAM. THIS IS FOR YOU PAKISTAN. THIS IS FOR ALL THOSE FANS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED US THROUGH THE GOOD AND BAD TIMES. #PakistanZindabad #Pak #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/0tWhLGO0OY
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) October 24, 2021
Really loved the scenes at the end between Virat and Rizwan and Babar and thereafter between some of the younger Pakistan players and Dhoni. Beyond the hype and posturing, this is the true story of sport.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 24, 2021
Congratulations to team Pakistan on winning the game. Team India will definitely come back better and stronger! #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup
— Suresh Rainaš®š³ (@ImRaina) October 24, 2021
What a statement Pakistan just made in the #ICCT20WorldCup2021 Now favourites in my opinion after that emphatic win over India. Just a super all round & impressive performance. Babar Azam continues to enhance his reputation as one of the best batters in the world in all forms !!
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 24, 2021
It wasnāt Indiaās day today. Am sure they will learn from their mistakes and come back stronger @BCCI But I must compliment Pakistan for their Brilliant win . They were a better team today @TheRealPCB #INDvPAK
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 24, 2021
Top notch stuff @babarazam258 @iMRizwanPak & @iShaheenAfridi. What a game #PakVsIndšš¼ Nothingās more joyous than a successful beginning to the World Cup campaign. Keep going team!šµš° pic.twitter.com/CvR47fnACb
— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) October 24, 2021
That's #Pakistan cricket for you – 69 years of them winning when you don't expect them to and losing when you expect them to win #T20WorldCup #INDvPAK #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) October 24, 2021
Babar Azam who was confident of beating India complemented his team after their whole-hearted effort.
“This was the team’s effort, and the early wickets were very helpful. It gave us a lot of confidence and our spinners were very good as well. We applied our plans and got the results. We, the openers, kept it simple and built a partnership and because the wicket was getting better so we just wanted to keep batting till the end, which we did. It won’t get easier just because we beat India. We will take the confidence, but we’re taking it one match at a time, and there’s a long way to go in the tournament.Ā Prepared well, and just kept the history out of our mind. We needed quality practice, and warm-up matches, and even our domestic tournament and those games gave us a lot of confidence” said Babar after the game.
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