Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Twitter reactions as Pakistan thump India by 10 wickets | Twitter reactions to Pakistan beating India for first time in WC
What a way to break the hoodoo. Never before had Pakistan beaten India in a World Cup match, but this victory almost made it worth the wait for Pakistan.
Started by the brilliant Shaheen Shah Afridi and finished off by the superb opening combination of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, Pakistan inflicted a heavy, question-raising 10-wicket victory over archrivals India. Afridi’s opening burst, where he broke through the defences of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, was a thing of beauty. India then fought back to reach 151, but it proved nowhere near enough as Pakistan romped home with more than an over to spare.
India now have lost their ninth straight T20I when defending 160 or less since 2018. Questions will now intensify further regarding their five-bowler strategy. How the favourites respond will be interesting to see.
The margin of victory was a surprise, but Pakistan’s spirit certainly wasn’t. Ramiz Raja recently made a vow that Pakistan will be raring to go in this World Cup following the heartbreak of cancelled tours and broken promises. They have made the perfect start, and all other 11 teams will surely take notice of the men in green.
“The pressure on us wasn’t that much – we weren’t thinking of the record against India at all,” said Babar Azam. The skipper went on to praise Shaheen for his opening burst, before providing the secret to the big opening partnership.
“We executed our plans well and the early wickets were very helpful. Shaheen’s wickets gave us a lot of confidence and the spinners dominated as well,” said Babar. “The plan with Rizwan is always to keep it simple. We tried to get deep in the crease and from about the 8th over the dew came in and the ball came on nicely.”
