Manchester/Hyderabad: Brilliant knocks from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before the magnificent spells by the bowling unit guided India to beat Pakistan by 89 runs at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.
With the win, India’s head-to-head record against Pakistan in World Cup matches now sits at 7-0.
Chasing a competitive target of 337 runs, Pakistan faced an early hiccup as Imam-ul-Haq was leg-before off the fifth ball of the fifth over by debutant Vijay Shankar, who completed the over as Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked off the field due to tightness in his left hamstring.
Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam recovered Pakistan well in time, adding 104 runs for the second wicket. However, in a span of 12 runs, the arch-rivals lost four crucial wickets. Kuldeep Yadav bagged two quick wickets — Babar (48) and Fakhar (62). Hardik Pandyajoined the party and he earned two wickets in an over — Mohammad Hafeez (9) and Shoaib Malik (0), reducing Pakistan on 129/5.
Imad Wasim (22*) and Sarfaraz Ahmed tried to rebuild Pakistan’s innings but their brief 36-run stand came to an end as Shankar returned and dismissed Sarfaraz for 12.
The rain interrupted the match after 35 overs. However, after almost 50 minutes, the match was curtailed to 40 overs and the run-chase was adjusted to 302 runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method. Pakistan needed 136 runs off just 30 balls. Imad and Shadab were left stranded on 46 and 20, respectively, and Pakistan fell short by 89 runs.
After India’s victory, BJP MLA representing Goshamahal Assembly Constituency, Mr. Raja Singh expressed his views on Twitter.
बाप बाप होता है
जय हिंद 🇮🇳 #TeamIndia#CWC19 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/bs4PV3q0sS— Raja Singh (@TigerRajaSingh) June 16, 2019
He tweeted, ” बाप बाप होता है जय हिंद” (Baap Baap hota hai. Jai Hind).
With inputs from ANI