Yet another India-Pakistan match at the ICC World Cup and another result in India’s favour. It was much the same script as the previous 6 matches at the World Cup between these two sides as India trounced their arch-rivals by 89 runs at Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday. Although rain interrupted play in the second half during Pakistan’s run chase, the result was never in doubt once India had put a formidable total of 336 runs on the board.
Here are the top 5 moments from the match:
Rohit Sharma’s 85-ball century
Rohit Sharma’s pristine form in this World Cup continued with another delightful century, which came off just 85 balls, the fastest of his career so far. Opening the innings for the first time with new partner KL Rahul in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit dominated the partnership during the early stages. Together, the duo put on 136 runs for the opening wicket. Rohit reached his fifty off a mere 34 balls which set the tone for the rest of his innings. He went on to score 140 runs off 113 balls, studded with 14 fours and three hits over the fence.
Kohli’s innings
Virat Kohli came to the crease when India lost the first wicket at 136. Kohli kept up the run-scoring momentum in the company of Rohit who was well set at the other end. It wasn’t the usual belligerent innings from the skipper but he kept the run-rate ticking by running hard between the wickets. Kohli hit just 7 boundaries and yet managed to score at more than a run-a-ball before being dismissed for 77 runs off 65 balls.
Shankar’s wicket off his first ball
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury while bowling his third over meant that Vijay Shankar was given the ball unexpectedly early, inside the first 10 overs of Pakistan’s innings. But Shankar came up with a corker to get rid of Imam-ul-Haq off his very first ball. The ball pitched on the stumps and curved back in, trapping Imam in front of the stumps. Kohli’s bemused expression after the dismissal showed how pleasantly surprised the skipper was at the forced change having brought about a wicket.
Kuldeep’s two wickets in quick succession
Pakistan seemed to be getting back into the game after the loss of an early wicket. The duo of Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam looked good, stitching together a partnership of 114 runs. But spinner Kuldeep Yadav had other ideas. He dismissed Babar with an absolute peach of a delivery that pitched outside off and went through the batsman’s defences to open the floodgates for the Indians. Kuldeep soon picked up another wicket two overs later when he had Fakhar caught inside the circle while attempting a sweep shot.
Missed run-out by Pakistan
Pakistan had a golden chance to take an early wicket but muffed it up. In the 10th over of the Indian innings, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma had a horrible mix-up. Rohit had charged down the wicket for the second run and was stranded more than halfway down the pitch when Rahul sent him back. But Fakhar, who fielded the ball, threw at the wrong end which gave Rohit enough time to scamper back to the crease.