<br>India had prior to that defeated Pakistan in seven matches in ODI World Cups and five in T20 World Cups.
Pakistan’s 10-wicket win in Dubai on October 24, 2021 — with 13 balls remaining — was set up by an early burst of wickets by young left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who sent back openers KL Rahul (3) and Rohit Sharma (0) in the first and third over of the innings to reduce India to 6/2. Suryakumar Yadav fell to Hasan Ali (11) as India slumped to 31/3 at the end of powerplay.
Skipper Virat Kohli soldiered on at the other end and found an able ally in Rishabh Pant, who blasted a 30-ball 39 studded with two fours and two sixes as they reached 84/4 in the 13th over — the scoring rate was slow by T20 standards.
Though Virat Kohli struck a superb 57 off 49 balls hitting five fours and a six before he got out to a slow bouncer by Afridi, India could manage only 151/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the best Pakistani bowler on the day, claiming 3/21 in his four overs. But more than his wickets, the line and length he bowled and the late swing he generated troubled the Indian batters.
Chasing a below-par 152, Pakistan never looked in trouble as Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam stitched together a match-winning partnership. They started slowly, preserving their wickets. The Indians bowled superbly and did not concede a single boundary between overs six to eight.
Babar Azam struck Ravindra Jadeja for a six in the ninth over and then hammered a four off Varun Chakravarthy in the next over.
With dew coming into play, Babar and Rizwan continued to gain in strength, hitting Chakravarthy for a six apiece in an over. They struck two fours off Jadeja in the next over and went on to notch half-centuries.
Rizwan remained unbeaten on 79 off 55 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes while Babar Azam was not out on 68 (52 balls, 6×4, 2×6) as Pakistan romped to 152 without loss in 17.5 overs for a comprehensive 10-wicket win.
This was Pakistan’s first win in 13 encounters with India in limited-overs cricket.
–Ajit Weekly News<br>bsk/akm
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