Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan Give Pakistan Historic 10-Wicket Win Against India
This is the first time Pakistan have beaten India in a men's World Cup.
Babar Azam led Pakistan to a 10-wicket win.
Image: PTI
Pakistan won the toss in Dubai and opted to field first.
India included Hardik Pandya as a batter.
India took the knee before the match while Pakistan players placed their hands on their jersey crests.
Virat Kohli top scored for India with 57. Shaheen Afridi picked 3 wickets for Pakistan.
Pakistan chased down 152-run target with 13 deliveries to go.
This is the first time India have lost a match against Pakistan in a men's World Cup.
It Was a Team Effort: Babar Azam
“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. We 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,” Babar Azam said.
Pakistan Outplayed Us Today: Virat Kohli
“We didn't execute properly. Credit where it's due and Pakistan outplayed us today. They started brilliantly with the ball, and 3 wickets for 20 runs was not a good start. We needed wickets early but with the bat they gave us absolutely no chances. It played slow in the first half and hitting through the line was not that easy as it was in the second half, after 10 overs. We needed those 15-20 extra runs an for that we needed a good start but Pakistan's bowling didn't allow us to get those extra runs. We could make the argument of getting in another slower bowler, but it's important to stay composed and understand our strengths, because with the dew the slower bowlers couldn't be effective either. This is just the first game of the tournament, not the last,” Kohli said after the game.
Pakistan Win by 10 Wickets
After that Kohli turned to Shami and Rizwan welcomed him with a six over fine leg into the second tier and then followed that up with a couple of boundaries as before Babar hit the finishing runs with 13 deliveries to go.
Rizwan was unbeaten on 79 while Babar was on 68.
Pakistan: 135/0 After 17 Overs
Kohli brought Bhuvi back into the for his third over and much like the trend in the innings, nothing went in India’s favour, except maybe a wide not being called at the end of the over. Bhuvi conceded 7 as Pakistan marched on towards the finish.
Pakistan: 128/0 After 16 Overs
Shami returned for his third over after that but even that didn’t really help as Rizwan greeted him with a crunching pull to make it a productive 7-run over with a boundary and three singles.
Both the openers put on a masterclass in Dubai
Pakistan: 121/0 After 15 Overs
India’s shoulders started dropping and Bumrah’s third over didn’t go as per plan. The openers were playing a flawless innings and Rizwan pulled Bumrah away for a boundary to get to his fifty as they proceeded to make it a 9-run over.
Pakistan: 112/0 After 14 Overs
Jadeja wasn’t taken to the cleaners as much but he had no success with the ball as well as both the openers played him well. His final over costed 11 Babar picking off two boundaries and taking charge of the final stages of the chase. Pakistan needed 40 more in 6 overs.
Pakistan: 101/0 After 13 Overs
The inexperienced Chakaravarthy then came in for his final over in the 13th and Babar Azam decided to take the attack to him. The spinner was clattered away for a couple of monster sixes as Pakistan’s captain reached his fifty before the 100-run stand came up as well. The 16-run over really put Pakistan in the box seat.
Fifty for Babar Azam
In the 13th over, Babar hammered Chakaravarthy for a six over square leg to bring up his half century. Off the next ball the openers' century stand was also up.
Pakistan: 85/0 After 12 Overs
India turned to Jadeja after that and it was a quiet over in comparison to how the innings had unfolded. Just the 5 runs.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya was hit on his right shoulder while batting and has gone for scans.
Pakistan: 80/0 After 11 Overs
Babar and Rizwan continued to dominate and this time it was Bumrah who could not leave any mark on proceedings. Babar drilled him through mid-off for a boundary before the openers made it an easy 9-run over to keep themselves well on course.
Babar was inching closer to another fifty.
Pakistan: 71/0 After 10 Overs
Well set and aided by the dew, Pakistan’s openers continued to chip away without much ado at the target. Off the 10th over bowled by Chakaravarthy, Babar first carved him through the gap between short fine and backward point before milking the bowling to make it a 9-run over.
At the midway stage India were in quite a bit of bother.
Pakistan: 62/0 After 9 Overs
And just as the pressure seemed to be building as the boundaries had dried up for a couple of overs, Babar Azam powerfully carted Jadeja over cow-corner, effortlessly, for a maximum. Superbly controlled shot which put more pressure on India, who were finding dew to be quite a problem. Pakistan took 10 runs from the over.
Pakistan: 52/0 After 8 Overs
Varun Chakaravarthy then slipped in his second over, conceding six runs including a wide as Pakistan reached the 50-run mark in the 8th over and looked far more comfortable than India’s batters.
Is the dew helping? The towels are out already.
Pakistan: 46/0 After 7 Overs
Right after the powerplay, India brought in Jadeja into the attack, who found his length very quickly and rattled off a 3-run over. Pakistan’s openers though were well set.
Pakistan: 43/0 After 6 Overs
Looking for some control, Kohli went back to Bhuvi for the final powerplay over and while the veteran seamer did not allow the batters to break free for more boundaries, they still managed 8 runs in a rather unhurried fashion.
Rizwan was batting on 25 off 19 while Babar was 17 from 17.
Pakistan: 35/0 After 5 Overs
The fourth over was something Pakistan fans enjoyed quite a bit as Mohammed Shami’s hard lengths were perfect for Babar and Rizwan. The skipper played him through mid on for a boundary before Rizwan pulled him away for another through square-leg to complete an 11-run over.
Pakistan were motoring along at good pace.
Pakistan: 24/0 After 4 Overs
India brought mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack after that and he, as expected, kept it quite tight, not allowing either batter to free their arms in the powerplay. Just a couple of singles to Pakistan in that over.
Pakistan: 22/0 After 3 Overs
Jasprit Bumrah came into the attack in the third over and started off with a yorker as Babar and Rizwan played out four dots and finished with 4 off the over. Pakistan with a much better start to their innings than India.
Pakistan: 18/0 After 2 Overs
Mohammed Shami was brought in for the next over and he was bowling hard lengths to start with, which allowed Babar and Rizwan to pick off four runs in singles and a two before the Pakistan skipper stood up tall and played a crisp backfoot punch through cover for another boundary.
Pakistan: 10/0 After 1 Over
Pakistan opened with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking the first over. Rizwan was quick to pounce on a couple of chances to score, getting a boundary to mid-on and then lifting him into the stands over square leg. Bhuvi finished the over with three dots.
India: 151/7 After 20 Overs
Haris Rauf was called in for the final over and midway through, an under pressure Hardik miscued the loft of a slower on and Babar took an easy catch at cover to end his stay for 11. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed to take India over the 150-run mark in the final deliveries of the innings.
Pakistan needed 152 to win.
India: 144/6 After 19 Overs
Shaheen Afridi finished his spell in the penultimate over of the innings and after conceding a boundary to Hardik first he responded with Kohli’s wicket. Kohli was dismissed for 57 as he tried to pull a slower bouncer.
Hardik was on strike for a free-hit off the last delivery but could not connect but Shaheen’s attempt to run out the batter at the non-strikers end resulted in four overthrows.
The eventful over gave India 17 more runs as 150 seemed a lot closer than before.
Kohli Gone for 57
Shaheen Afridi was back in the attack and struck in his final over, and had Kohli caught behind for 57.
Kohli tried to pull a slower ball bouncer, got a thick edge to the right of Rizwan who stretches and catches the ball. This was Kohli's first dismissal in a T20 World Cup against Pakistan.
India: 127/5 After 18 Overs
A quick two to midwicket gave Kohli his half century in the next over before he masterfully hammered Hasan Ali over extra cover for a boundary. It was one of those special hits through the off side from Kohli.
The pacer was under pressure with India looking to make the over count, and Jadeja first picked off a boundary to fine leg before a slower one from Ali had the southpaw deceived and caught at midwicket while looking to clear the ropes.
India ended the over with 13 more added to the total and with Hardik joining the skipper.
Hasan Ali Strikes; Jadeja Dismissed
Unable to break free like he would have liked Jadeja managed to get a boundary with a smart shot down to fine leg, but an attempted hoick over midwicket failed and he was caught for 13 as Pakistan struck again.
India: 114/4 After 17 Overs
The 17th was left for Haris Rauf, who mixed up the pace quite well, and kept the Indian batters quiet at a crucial time in the game. Just the four singles as neither Kohli or Jadeja were afforded a chance to free their arms.
India: 110/4 After 16 Overs
The fiery Hasan Ali was back in for his third over and Kohli, approaching his fifty, greeted him with a boundary off the slower ball down to square leg before pulling out one of his trademark cover drives to leave the fans delighted. India added 10 to the total in the over with 4 more to go.
India: 100/4 After 15 Overs
Shadab came in for the 15th over and continued to be quite accurate through the over, much like the case with the rest of his overs. Jadeja and Kohli two dots and picked up four singles to reach the 100-run mark.
India: 96/4 After 14 Overs
Haris Rauf came back for his second over right after as Babar looked for wickets. The pacy right arm bowler started off well but then lost his way a bit, getting too carried away. A bouncer over Kohli’s head was followed by one down leg which Kohli flicked away fine past the keeper for 4 to make it a 9-run over.
India were still struggling to go through the gears.
India: 87/4 After 13 Overs
Babar Azam turned to his leg spinner Shadab after that and Pant started off with a couple of runs before looking to clear the ropes and failed. He was caught and bowled by Shadab as misread a googly and India lost their fourth wicket. Kohli was joined by Jadeja after that and they picked off 3 singles to get going.
Shadab Khan Deceives Rishabh Pant
After the huge sixes in the 12th over, Pant tried to attack the leg spinner Shadab but the googly caught the leading edge and the bowler made no mistake with a difficult catch. Pant was gone for 39 with India 4 down.
India: 81/3 After 12 Overs
Off the next over, Pant took the attack to Hasan Ali, who was in for his second over. Pant greeted him with a cracking six over long leg first and then smashed it back over the bowler’s head, with one hand, for another maximum. Two huge hits which pleased captain Kohli quite a bit. Pant managed 15 off the over to give India a boost.
The over also saw them brought up the half-century partnership for the fourth wicket.
India: 66/3 After 11 Overs
After a drink break, Pakistan brought in Haris Rauf and he rattled off a 145 kmph+ over as India were hoping to accelerate. The batters were given no freebies as the bowlers continued to keep it tight and they picked up 6 runs in the over.
India: 60/3 After 10 Overs
Pant then slapped Hafeez through the point region for a boundary in the next over and along with Kohli added four more singles as India continued to chip away after the early collapse.
At the halfway stage India was 60/3.
India: 52/3 After 9 Overs
With Kohli and Pant under pressure, Pakistan were looking for wickets and Shadab was hoping to do just that. However a good over ended with Pant clipping him away to fine leg for a boundary, bring up India’s 50 too.
India got 9 runs in the over as the partnership started building.
India: 43/3 After 8 Overs
The experienced Mohammad Hafeez was introduced into the attack for the 8th over and after a couple of singles, there was a loud appeal against Pant who tried to reverse sweep and Rizwan was sure he had nicked it. The review went in India’s favour and Pant survived. India managed four runs from the over.
India: 39/3 After 7 Overs
Babar Azam promptly turned to the leg spinner Shadab Khan to bowl the seventh over. Shadab had Pant to face and kept him quiet with three dots first before a slap through the offside gave him a couple. Pant added one more as India finished a three-run over with Pakistan bowlers well and truly in control.
India: 36/3 After 6 Overs
Hasan Ali was the brought in at the end of the powerplay and after a quiet start to the over in comparison the rest, he struck too. Hasan’s fast outswinger took the edge of Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammad Rizwan took a wonderful diving catch. Suryakumar was gone for 11 and Rishabh Pant joined Kohli, who ended the over with a boundary through point with a crisp drive.
Hasan Ali Strikes! India 3 Down
After Shaheen Afridi, it was the turn of right arm pacer Hasan Ali to get into the act. An outswinger to Suryakumar Yadav took the edge and Mohammad Rizwan caught it well, diving towards slips. Suryakumar was gone for 11 off 8 deliveries.
India: 30/2 After 5 Overs
In the penultimate over of the powerplay, Shaheen returned for his third and had Kohli batting a little out of his crease, looking to smother the movement. Kohli ran hard to get two at midwicket to start the over off before the pacer responded with three dots.
Kohli however had seen enough and clattered Afridi over the long on boundary for a six, stamping his authority on the situation with a masterful hit. Afridi went for the yorker after that but Kohli turned it into a low full toss and got a single to end a 9-run over.
India: 21/2 After 4 Overs
Imad continued at the other end looking to keep the pressure on the new batters. Imad slipped in a couple of dots to Kohli before the batters picked of three singles. Imad then offered Suryakumar a chance to free his arms at the end of the over and the right hander swept gleefully into the gap for a boundary, releasing some pressure.
India began rebuilding, but would Shaheen strike again?
India: 14/2 After 3 Overs
It was an eventful third over with Shaheen zipping through Rahul’s defence on the first delivery to send him packing and leave India in a spot of bother early on. Kohli was joined by Suryakumar Yadav and they both played watchfully, with the new man getting off the mark with a single before finishing the over with a six over long leg.
Afridi Strikes Again!
Shaheen Afridi is on fire in Dubai and has struck in his second over. This time he cleans up KL Rahul with a fast one that's zipped through the openers defence. It was bowled at some pace.
India 6/2 with Rahul gone for 3.
India: 6/1 after 2 Overs
Pakistan turn to spin for the second over with Imad Wasim, who gets a bit of drift in his first over. Kohli and Rahul can only pick off four singles as Pakistan continue to keep it tight in the early phase of the very important powerplay.
India: 2/1 after 1 over
Fantastic start to the evening by Pakistan with Shaheen Afridi striking in the over, something which he does very often. This time the victim was Rohit Sharma who was trapped LBW with a fast yorker on the fourth delivery of the over. Rohit did not review and was gone for a first ball duck.
Virat Kohli joined KL Rahul and the duo both got off the mark in the first over.
Rohit Dismissed First Ball
Rohit Sharma has been trapped LBW by Shaheen Afridi off the first delivery he faced. India are 1/1 after 4 deliveries in the game.
Afridi is well known for striking in the first over.
Here We Go!
India openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are walking out to the middle with the Pakistan players and the umpires.
Pakistan start off with Shaheen Afridi.
Hardik Won't Bowl vs Pakistan
India's Hardik Pandya confirmed before the game that he will not be bowling in the game today but expects to do so in the later stages.
“The back is fine, it was jittery, but I won't be bowling for now. I want to be able to bowl eventually, closer to the knockouts. The professionals and I both have to take the call about when I can have a bowl,” Pandya said.
Teams:
India XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan XI: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Pakistan team huddle before the game against India.
India Would Have Bowled First: Kohli
After losing the toss, India captain Virat Kohli said they would have preferred to bowl first as well. Kohli though added that they are balanced enough to deal with the situation.
India have included Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakaravarthy in the XI.
R Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Ishan Kishan miss out for India.
Hardik will not be bowling in this game, he confirmed in the pre-match chat with the broadcasters.
Toss: Pakistan Ask India to Bat First
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss in Dubai and has asked India to bat first.
Babar Azam and Virat Kohli are both captaining their side for the first time in a T20 World Cup. India's previous 5 wins in the format at the World Cup against Pakistan have all been under MS Dhoni, who is the mentor for the team this time.
Pakistan Enjoy Playing in UAE
Pakistan come into the game on the back of a little bit of a chaotic few weeks with games against NZ and England cancelled at the last moment. However, it is in UAE that their surge to the top of the T20I rankings came in 2017-18.
India's players meanwhile are well accustomed to the conditions as they were playing the IPL before the World Cup.
A little over five minutes to go before the toss in Dubai.
Virat Kohli Confident, But Cautious
In his pre-match press conference on Saturday, India captain Virat Kohli said he believes Pakistan possess players who can change the game anytime and so India will need to put out their best possible plan and execute it well.
"According to me, Pakistan team is very strong and has been a strong team for long. You have to play your best cricket against them as they have a lot of talent. They possess players who can change the game anytime. Against teams like them, you have to bring your best plan forward and make sure that the plan is executed well. The more consistently we play, the more pressure we are able to create on the opposition. So, definitely, we have to bring out A-game forward," Kohli had said.
Kohli confirmed that pace all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be ready to play in Sunday's match, saying that if Pandya can bowl even two overs, the balance of the team gets even better.
Pandya hasn't bowled in a cricket match since the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka in July this year.
"I feel that Hardik, currently with his physical condition is getting better in terms of being prepared to bowl at least two overs for us at a certain stage in this tournament. We strongly think that we can make most of the opportunity we have at hand till the time he starts bowling. We have considered a couple of other options to chip in for an over or two. We are not bothered about that at all."
India Unbeaten in 12 World Cup Face-Offs
India and Pakistan have faced-off in 12 ICC World Cup encounters and India have come up trumps each time, including the five times they have faced each other in the T20 World Cup.
On the eve of the match, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam insisted that the lop-sided 0-5 T20 WC record is a thing of the past.
"To be honest, what has passed is beyond us. We want to use our ability and confidence on the day of the match so that we can get a better result. Records are meant to be broken."
Azam mentioned that their mantra ahead of the match against India is to keep things simple and be relaxed. "According to me, we have played a lot of events like Champions Trophy and 50-over World Cup. The more we keep things simple, be relaxed and stick to the basics, the more helpful it will be for us.
"We have spoken to all players about being relaxed, preparation being in our hands and giving our 100% to play our best cricket on the day.
"India and Pakistan are always high-intensity matches. You cannot afford to be relaxed at any given point of time. You have to do well in all three departments of the game -- batting, bowling as well as fielding. So, we need to perform well in all three departments of the game to win the match. We tried different things in the warm-up games. As a team, I have full confidence on all of them and hopefully, we can do well."
India vs Pakistan: Toss at 7pm IST
Two years after they last met at the 2019 ICC World Cup, in the 50 over format, India and Pakistan are set to play a men's cricket match once again tonight as they face off in both teams' 2021 T20 World Cup opener in Dubai.
Pakistan have Babar Azam leading the team as he makes his T20 World Cup debut as well while India have Virat Kohli at the helm in what is to be his last outing as India captain in the shortest format.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)