India lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in the teams’ opening game of the T20 World Cup. An all-round effort by the Pakistani players earned them their first World Cup win in 13 games overall in style.

Things seemed to have been going right for Pakistan from the word go as they won the toss and chose to field. Having put India to bat first, their bowling line-up did well in restricting the Men in Blue to 151/7, before chasing it down without breaking a sweat.

Below are the talking points of this encounter between the arch rivals

Kohli, Pant take India to 151/7

Having lost a couple of early wickets, Indian captain Virat Kohli and number five batter Rishabh Pant were involved in a 53-run partnership that pulled India from 31/3 to 84/4. Kohli scored 57 (49) while Pant got a crucial 39 (30) to push India forward.

Shaheen Afridi shines

Young Shaheen Afridi took three wickets and was responsible for dismantling the Indian top order completely. While the first two wickets of Rohit and Rahul came in his first two overs, his wicket of Virat Kohli came when he was finishing his spell in the 19th over. He ended with numbers 4-0-31-3.

Pakistan’s bowling unit keeps things tight

While Afridi did his part, the rest of the bowling unit too gave him ample support. Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan picked a wicket each, while Hasan Ali, despite being a tad bit expensive, picked two for himself. The bowlers performed well as a unit to put pressure on India, restricting the Men in Blue to 151/7.

Pakistan’s openers win it with ease

Pakistan’s opening pair, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, put up a great show with the bat to win it easily for their team. Rizwan’s 79* (55) came with six fours and three sixes while Azam’s 68* (52) came with six fours and two sixes. The duo took 17.5 overs to chase down the target, and Pakistan didn’t lose a single wicket in the process.

India’s winning streak broken

India’s 12-0 winning streak against Pakistan in World Cup matches broke today, courtesy a good all-round show from the latter. The team had come their closest to winning a game when the first T20I World Cup game between the two teams back in 2007 was tied, but India had edged the neighbours out in a thriller.

India will next play New Zealand in a week’s time, on 31st October 2021 at the same venue as today, Dubai International Cricket Stadium.