Absolute dominance: India keep WC win record intact in meek Pak show

Gaurav Kanthwal

Ahmedabad, October 14

Pakistan imploded on the big stage yet again, this time owing to their misfiring middle-order and a blunt bowling attack, to give India the bragging rights and yet another win in their ICC ODI World Cup encounters.

Captain Rohit Sharma smacked six sixers in his 63-ball 86 as India crushed Pakistan by seven wickets with over 19 overs remaining at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Saturday evening. Shreyas Iyer (53 not out) and KL Rahul (19 not out) mopped up the few runs the India captain had left for them to score in the chase of Pakistan’s paltry 191.

And so the jinx continues… 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019, and now 2023. The scoreline has been updated to 8-0, with the prospect of yet another clash in this edition, should the two teams make it to the semifinals.

Pakistan, world No. 2 in ODIs, were bundled out for 191 in 42.5 overs — their second-lowest score against India in the World Cup, after 180 in 1999 — by India, Numero Uno in all three formats of cricket. India’s speedsters and spinners bagged two wickets each, with only seamer Shardul Thakur returning wicketless. Mohammed Siraj, drafted in place of Ravichandran Ashwin, bagged the big wicket of Pakistan captain Babar Azam (50). Jasprit Bumrah, India’s most economical and also the Man of the Match, sounded the death knell for the visitors as he clean-bowled the in-form Mohammad Rizwan one short of his half-century.

Till Rizwan’s fall, the 80,000-strong crowd at the stadium was sitting tight, watching every move closely, but cheering only for the home team. Babar’s drives and Rizwan’s spunky hits were met with deathly silence. With a partnership of 82, the two had taken the team to 155/2, Babar Azam on 50 and Rizwan on 49, when the when the slide began in the 30th over. Pakistan’s middle-order was again exposed as the side lost the last eight wickets for just 36 runs.

The huge crowd cheered the fall of every wicket loudly, but the electric thrill of a cliffhanger was missing. The crowd’s hope of a down-the-wire encounter were scuttled in the first innings itself, but they waited patiently for the home team to cross the line and got exactly what they had come for.

“Restricting Pakistan to 190 was a great effort,” captain Rohit said later. “The batters got the opportunity and made it count. The bowlers also did their job. It is a long tournament, nine league games and then the semis and final. We just have to keep the balance and go forward.” Pakistan captain Babar rued his team’s poor batting performance. “We started well and had one good partnership,” he said. “Suddenly there was a collapse and we could not finish well. Not good for us… The way we started, our target was 280-290 but the collapse cost us. We are not up to the mark with the new ball. The way Rohit played, it was an outstanding innings. We just tried to take wickets, but that didn’t happen.”

Today’s tie

Teams:Eng vs Afghanistan

Venue: Delhi

Time: 2 pm