India beat Pakistan with seven wickets in hand in the most hyped match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India chased down a very small target in 30 overs. The archrivals could not make partnerships so restricted on just 191, and Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, feels they collapsed and did not finish well as well. Babar Azam couldn’t make the most of the start which hurt the team.
Babar Azam and company were confident before the contest started because they won their first two matches. While batting first on the batting fest, their batting was exposed against the Indian bowling lineup. They only managed 191 on the scoreboard, but Rohit Sharma made the case easy with his quick-fire half-century.
Pakistan started really well while batting first, with an opening partnership of 41 between both openers. Babar Azam started nicely and looked in good nick, as did Imam-ul-Haq; both had a good little stand. The biggest partnership of the inning happened between two reliable Pakistani batters, Mohammad Rizwan and the skipper himself. Suddenly, in a good situation, the archrivals started losing wicket after wicket and could not even cross the 200-run mark.
Rohit Sharma flicked the very first ball to the square leg boundary, and he clarified his intentions. On the other side, Shubman Gill pleases eyes with his classy shorts through the covers. Rohit Sharma totally took the game away from the opposition by scoring 86 in just 63 balls. Shreyas scored a half-century and finished the game for the team in a convincing way, along with KL Rahul.
We started well….- Babar Azam
In the post-match presentation, skipper Babar Azam talked about the batting collapse in the middle and also lauded Rohit Sharma’s aggressive approach. Babar Azam stated that he wanted to play normal cricket when he & Rizwan were at the crease.
“We started well. Good partnership between me and Imam. We wanted to play normal cricket (me and Rizwan). Suddenly, we had a collapse and didn’t finish well. The way we started, we wanted to target 280–290. With the new ball, we are not up to par. The way Rohit is playing—he played an outstanding innings,” said Babar Azam.
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