Pakistan lose last eight wickets for 36 to be bundled out for 191; Rohit Sharma then scores 86 from 63 balls as India win with 117 balls to spare to make it eight victories out of eight against Pakistan in 50-over World Cup; game played at 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
Sunday 15 October 2023 07:08, UK
India extended their immaculate record against Pakistan in World Cups to 8-0 as a dreadful batting collapse from their opponents set them on their way to a seven-wicket win at a packed Ahmedabad.
The 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium was the venue for the showpiece game in world cricket - one rarely seen these days due to political tensions - with the hordes of India supporters watching their side raze Pakistan for 191 after Babar Azam's team lost their last eight wickets for just 36 runs once the skipper fell for 50.
Pakistan crumbled from 155-2 with India wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (2-35) striking twice in an over and seamer Jasprit Bumrah (2-19) castling Mohammad Rizwan (49) and Shadab Khan (2) in successive overs as the batting side were bundled out in 42.5 overs.
India reached their target with a whopping 117 balls to spare as skipper Rohit Sharma followed his 63-ball century against Afghanistan with a 63-ball 86, smoking fives sixes, including his 300th in the format.
India cantered to a third straight win at this World Cup to move top of the table, above New Zealand on net run-rate, with Shreyas Iyer (53no) clinching victory, and his half-century, with a four off Mohammad Nawaz midway through the 31st over.
Rohit's charges remain undefeated against Pakistan in all 50-over World Cups after previous successes in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2019, with this latest victory an absolute thrashing as they underlined their status as tournament favourites.
India will look to make it four wins from four when they face Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday (9.30am UK time), with Pakistan hoping to bounce back from their Ahmedabad drubbing when they play Australia in Bangalore on Friday (9.30am UK time).
Pakistan saw their 100 per cent record at this year's tournament ended, with Babar's side beating Netherlands in their opening fixture and then pulling off the highest World Cup run chase of 345 to defeat Sri Lanka before being blown away by India amid a blizzard of questionable strokes.
There was little hint of the carnage to follow as Babar and Rizwan put on 82 for Pakistan's third wicket - that stand beginning at 73-2 after openers Abdullah Shafique (20) and Imam-ul-Haq (36) had been dismissed by India seamers Siraj (2-50) and Hardik Pandya (2-34) respectively.
But once Babar was bowled by a peach from Siraj that hit his off stump - one over after the batter had clinched a 29th ODI half-century and first against India in eight attempts - Pakistan wilted.
Kuldeep pinned Saud Shakeel (6) lbw and bowled Iftikhar Ahmed (4) around his legs in the same over; Bumrah's beauties accounted for Rizwan and Shadab; and the tail were then polished off as they looked to slog - Ravindra Jadeja (2-38) ending the innings by trapping Haris Rauf (2) leg before.
The quality of Pakistan's bowling attack meant they still had an outside chance of victory if they could muster early wickets and they picked up one in the third over, with Shubman Gill - back in the India side in place of Ishan Kishan after recovering from a bout of dengue fever - cracking Shaheen Shah Afridi to backward point after a boundary-laden 16 from 11 deliveries.
However, the free-scoring Rohit ensured India raced to 79 inside 10 overs before Pakistan struck again - Virat Kohli spooning a short ball from Hasan Ali to mid-on for 16 - and the captain then shared a stand of 77 from 71 balls with Shreyas before he sliced Shaheen's slower ball to midwicket with 36 runs required.
India skipper Rohit Sharma:
"The bowlers were the ones who set the game up for us. Restricting Pakistan to 190 was a great effort. I don't think it was a 190 pitch.
"Whoever gets the ball, does the job for the team and that's something we pride ourselves in and speak about. We have six individuals who can get wickets for us.
"We don't want to get get our hopes too high or too low. We want to keep balanced, that's the key. It's a long tournament."
Player of the Match, Jasprit Bumrah:
"When I was young I used to ask a lot of questions and now that I am experienced, I am able to read the wickets quickly and try different options.
"It felt good, usually you try to analyse the wicket as soon as possible. When we started bowling, we knew the wicket was on the slower side.
"We knew as soon as the ball got a bit older it would reverse a little bit and grip a little bit too. We were waiting for that and trying to make it as difficult as possible."
Pakistan captain Babar Azam:
"We were building a partnership and then had a collapse in the middle order. We didn't finish well. It was not good for us. The way we started we targeted 280 but the collapse cost us and the total score was not good. With the new ball we are not up to the mark."
England return to action on Sunday with a match against Afghanistan in Delhi. Build-up begins at 9am on Sky Sports Cricket ahead of the first ball at 9.30am.
Then, on Monday, Australia and Sri Lanka will look to claim their first points of the competition when they meet in Lucknow.
Once again, coverage starts at 9am on Sky Sports Cricket ahead of the first ball at 9.30am.
