It was supposed to be The Game of the ICC Cricket World Cup. There was anticipation. Plenty of talks, bombastic statements, predictions of epic battles. The crowd had started pouring in at the venue hours before the toss. The pitch, we were told, has been prepared to ensure a run-fest. There was a moment when we were all fooled into believing that we have potentially have an epic contest on our hands.
It turned out to be a one-sided affair, as the past few India vs Pakistan contests have been. India, riding on a red-hot show from captain Rohit Sharma after a combined bowling display condemned Pakistan to a seven-wicket defeat in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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India thus extended their winning streak over Pakistan in ODI World Cups to eight, having never lost to them in the tournament.
The India vs Pakistan contest that was preceded by a small ceremony with singers entertaining the fans gathered for the marquee clash. Even the tournament opener between England and Pakistan wasn’t afforded an opening ceremony. Such was the anticipation for this contest.
The crowd though got their money’s worth. They saw what they came for – India dominated Pakistan, with the bat and the ball.
Set 192 to win, Rohit provided led a blazing start – he set the tone by clipping the first delivery of the of the chase, bowled by Shaheen Afridi, for a four.
Shubman Gill, playing his first world cup match after recovering from a bout of dengue, unfurled two delicious drives – one through mid-off and the next through covers – for a couple of boundaries. A flick resulted in a third four but a short delivery ended his promising start on 16.
Rohit carried the momentum of his record century against Afghanistan. Afridi tested him with a short delivery but was hooked for a six over fine leg.
The moment Gill departed, the crowd at the venue erupted, as it did on numerous occasions. This time, it was for the arrival of Virat Kohli who delighted them with two gorgeous cover drives. However, like Gill, his promising start was also nipped in the bud when he handed an easy catch on 16.
Rohit though was unstoppable. He soon brought up his half-century and looked set for another hundred but was undone by an off-cutter from Afridi to hole out to midwicket on 86.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul joined hands and stitched a steady stand to complete the inevitable. Iyer struck the winning shot, a boundary, which also took him to his half-century as India chased down in 30.3 overs.
This was after as many as five India bowlers took two wickets each to bowl out Pakistan for 191 who suffered their third worst batting collapse in ODI history after being put in to bat first.
Pakistan started well with Imam-ul-Haq hitting three fours in an over of Mohammed Siraj who after proving expensive, landed the first blow for India when he trapped Abdullah Shafique LBW on 20.
Hardik Pandya then had Imam caught behind on 36 before Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan took control with an 82-run partnership for the third wicket.
Babar reached his first ODI half-century against India but was bowled by Siraj on 50 when he attempted a late dab.
Babar and Rizwan had taken Pakistan to 155/2 when the former fell and it triggered a massive collapse. They lost their last eight wickets for the addition of just 36 runs as India sliced through their batting order to leave them in tatters.
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