Bowling first on a slow pitch with variable bounce, India were on the backfoot as Pakistan were cruising at 155-2 with captain Babar Azam getting his fifty and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan nearing his half-century.
But Azam falling to Mohammed Siraj sparked a Pakistan batting implosion as they lost eight wickets for just 36 runs in their next 13 overs, ending up at 191 in 42.5 overs. Such was the innings that no batter was able to hit a six and Nasser Hussain on air said “a collapse only Pakistan team can manufacture”.
Pakistan losing eight wickets for 36 runs is also their worst collapse for the last eight wickets in their history of playing in the Men’s ODI World Cup. For India, local lad Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja picked two wickets each in an exception bowling display for the hosts’, who now need to chase down 192 for making a hat-trick of wins in the competition.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 191 in 42.5 overs (Babar Azam 50, Mohammad Rizwan 49; Jasprit Bumrah 2-19, Hardik Pandya 2-34) against India
–IANS
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