India register 13th win against Pakistan in ICC World Cups
India beat Pakistan in their ICC T20 World Cup opener at the MCG. The Men in Blue chased 160, with Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya sharing a century stand. India bounced back after Naseem Shah and Harris Rauf wreaked havoc. India's Arshdeep Singh and Pandya shared six wickets. India avenged their loss from the 2021 event, claiming a 13th World Cup win against Pakistan.
How did the match pan out?
India had a magical start after Rohit Sharma elected to field. Pacers Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar Kumar outfoxed the batters with vicious swing. However, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood controlled the damage. Although Hardik Pandya brought India back in the hunt, Masood took Pakistan to 159/8. Pakistan pacers too joined the party, having destroyed India's top order. Kohli and Pandya then scripted India's win (160/6).
Another knock for the ages!
Virat Kohli exhibited his masterclass when it mattered the most. He started watchfully when India were in a spot of bother. Kohli then projected his vintage form, smashing his 34th half-century in T20I cricket. He now has the joint-most 50+ scores against Pakistan in the format with Kane Williamson (5). Notably, Kohli has slammed four fifties against Pakistan in five T20 WC matches.
A wicket off the first ball
Arshdeep delivered one of the best balls of his career on his T20 World Cup debut. The left-arm seamer uprooted Babar on his very first delivery of the ICC tournament, a ferocious in-swinger. He is the second Indian to take a wicket off the first ball in the T20 WC. Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha was the first to do so (vs BAN, 2009).
Unwanted numbers for Babar and Rizwan
As per Cricbuzz, this is the third time in 49 T20Is since 2021 that both Babar and Rizwan have been dismissed in single figures. Notably, Masood went on to score over 50 on the previous two occasions. And, the story continues!
Feats involving Arshdeep and Babar
Arshdeep has become the first bowler to dismiss both Pakistan openers (Babar and Rizwan) on single-digit scores in the same innings. He is just the second bowler to dismiss Babar for a first-ball duck in T20Is. This was Babar's fifth duck in the format, the most by a Pakistan captain. He overtook Shahid Afridi on the list (4).
A valuable hand by Iftikhar Ahmed
Iftikhar and Masood steadied the ship after Pakistan were reduced to 15/2. They shared a 76-run stand for the third wicket. The former slammed his second half-century in T20I cricket. Iftikhar counter-attacked with four maximums, which helped Pakistan gain momentum. He attacked R Ashwin and Axar Patel in the middle overs. Mohammed Shami dismissed Ahmed in the 13th over.
Masood shines on big stage
Top-order batter Masood played a pivotal knock. He helped Pakistan post a challenging 159/8 after they were reduced to 98/5. Masood registered his third half-century in T20I cricket. The left-handed batter smashed an unbeaten 52 off just 42 balls. Earlier this week, Masood underwent scans after being hit on his head. However, he recovered in time and shone on the big stage.
Another three-wicket haul against Pakistan
India bounced back after the dismissal of Iftikhar. All-rounder Pandya got rid of both Shadab Khan and Haider Ali in the very next over. Pandya also dismissed Mohammad Nawaz on his penultimate ball of the match. He registered brilliant figures of 3/30 in four overs. Pandya now has the most three-wicket hauls (3) against Pakistan in T20I cricket.
Other feats attained by Pandya
Pandya has become the 10th Indian to complete 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals. He became the first Indian and eighth player overall to score 1,000 runs and take 50 wickets in T20Is. Pandya now has the joint-most wickets for India against Pakistan in T20I cricket (11) with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They are the only two bowlers with over 10 T20I wickets against Pakistan.
India's 13th WC win against Pakistan
India now own a 9-3 win-loss record against Pakistan in T20I cricket, including the bowl-out triumph in the 2007 T20 WC. Pakistan had clocked a 10-wicket win in their last meet during the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE. India have duly completed their revenge. Besides, India have a win-loss record of 13-1 in ICC World Cups (including the 50-over version).
