India, on Sunday, 16 June, beat Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS method) in their rain-interrupted 2019 ICC World Cup clash at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium.
Put to bat first after Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss, India, powered by Rohit Sharma's 140 (113), set a target of 337. Pakistan, in reply, reached 166/6 in 35 overs before rain caused a temporary halt to the proceedings. On resumption, their revised target was 302 and they had to chase it down in 40 overs. Only managing to reach 212/6, they fell to their third defeat of the tournament.
Pakistan were dealt an early blow in the chase when Vijay Shankar dismissed Imam-ul-Haq off his very first ball of the match.
Brought on to finish the fifth over after Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a hamstring injury, Shankar sent in a full delivery that swung back into the left-handed Imam and hit his pads. Imam decided not to review the decision and Pakistan lost their first wicket inside the first five overs.
Shankar is the third bowler to have taken a wicket off his very first ball in the World Cup. He tweeted after the match, “Old Trafford is really the 'Theatre of Dreams'.”
‘A Sunday Well Spent’
Actor Anil Kapoor took to Twitter to tell his fans that it was a “Sunday well spent” after team India defeated Pakistan.
Cricketer Suresh Raina tweeted it was a very “professional display” by team India.
This is India's third win of the tournament, with which they jump to third on the table, behind second-placed New Zealand on the basis of net run rate. Pakistan, who sank to the ninth place, now need to win all of their remaining matches to make it to the knockouts.
(With inputs from IANS)
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