"The Way Rohit Sharma Played...": Babar Azam Clean Bowled By India Captain In World Cup Clash
Captain Babar Azam criticised Pakistan's batting meltdown following his team's World Cup seven-wicket loss to bitter foe India. In the historic match, India dominated both at bat and with the ball. In the Asia Cup last month, India had also defeated Pakistan handily. Pakistan's batsmen, Mohammad Riawan (49) and Babar Azam (50), came up short, losing eight wickets for 36 runs as they fell from 155/2 to 191 all out.
"Our partnership got off to a fantastic start. All we were going to do was play cricket as usual and form partnerships. Abruptly, there was a collapse, and our performance was subpar. We didn't start out well; we had a target of 280–290, but the collapse cost us. The sum was not favourable. In a post-match presentation on Saturday, Babar stated, "We are not up to the mark with the new ball."
The captain of Pakistan commended the captain of India for his outstanding 86 off 63 balls, which included six maximums and six boundaries.
"Rohit played a fantastic innings. He was quite impressive. All we attempted to do was take wickets, but it was unsuccessful.
Indian hitters appeared prepared to pursue Pakistan's score from the start of the game.
#INDvPAK | #DattKePakistani pic.twitter.com/f4cdQd22zF
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 14, 2023
Prior to losing his wicket, Shubman Gill, who was playing in his debut ODI World Cup, delivered some brilliant smashes. In the Indian innings' second over, he hit Hasan Ali for three straight fours.
Shubman was out under Shaheen Shah Afridi's bowling, therefore Pakistani supporters' brief moment of optimism was dashed.
Rohit, who was fluid with his power hitting, was joined by Virat Kohli. During the powerplay, Kohli also delivered a few hard smashes before Hasan Ali's bowling caught him off guard.
While Pakistani bowlers toiled valiantly to produce a breakthrough, Rohit and Shreyas took the initiative and marched forward.
As Indian batsmen scored runs in the game being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium here, a sea of blue-clad Indian fans applauded and waved.
By 14 runs, Rohit missed his well-earned century. With a score of 86, Rohit came back to the pavilion after Shaheen took his second wicket of the evening.
Rohit reached the landmark of 300 ODI sixes in 254 matches with a fast-paced innings. Former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi leads the record with 351 sixes in 308 games, while West Indies great Chris Gayle smashed 331 maximums in 301 matches.
Shreyas 53* and KL 19* led India to a convincing 7-wicket victory following Rohit's exit, making it 8-0 in the World Cup between the two bitter rivals.