India vs Pakistan LIVE: T20 World Cup final score, result and reaction today
Pakistan beat great rivals India in T20 World Cup showdown
Captain Babar Azam led by example as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup showdown for the first time ever with a 10-wicket romp in a Super 12 blockbuster at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.
Virat Kohli played a captain’s knock of 57 to rescue India from a top-order wobble and help them post a competitive 151-7 in a rematch of the inaugural 2007 final.
His counterpart Babar combined with Mohammad Rizwan to get Pakistan off to a flying start and then overwhelmed the target with 13 balls to spare to snap India’s 100% win record against them in limited-overs World Cups.
Babar remained not out on 68, while Rizwan made an unbeaten 79.
Wary of the dew factor, captains have preferred to field and Babar too followed that trend after winning the toss.
Pakistan did not have to wait long for a breakthrough as Shaheen Afridi (3-31) struck twice in his first seven deliveries to rattle India.
The left-arm pacer fired in a searing yorker-length delivery to dismiss Rohit Sharma lbw for a golden duck and, in his next over, rifled one through KL Rahul’s gate to rearrange the stumps.
Suryakumar Yadav hit Afridi for a six but Rizwan took a diving catch behind the stumps to dismiss the batsman and reduce India to 31-3 in the sixth over.
Kohli and Rishabh Pant calmed nerves in the Indian camp and guided the team to 60-3 at the halfway stage of the innings.
Pant then decided to counter-attack and hit Hasan Ali for back-to-back sixes but his ultra-aggression ultimately did him in.
Shadab Khan foxed Pant with a googly to induce a skier which the spinner caught himself to dismiss the batsman for 39.
Kohli fell in the penultimate over of the innings trying to accelerate but India still made the 150-mark.
Pakistan, in their reply, not only kept their wickets intact in the powerplay overs but also scored briskly with Babar and Rizwan effectively killing off the contest with their rock-solid stand.
Babar brought up his fifty in style, hitting spinner Varun Chakravarthy for a six, while Rizwan reached his own fifty with a pulled boundary off Jasprit Bumrah.
NOT OUT! Pakistan 69-0 (9.4)
Close, but it’s just about down! Rizwan ends up propped awkwardly upon his bat like an old man on a cane as he stumbles trying to make his ground, but he’s just about forced it against the floor as the short fine leg fielder hits the stumps with his throw.
Is that out? We’ll check the run out upstairs...
It looked like Mohammad Rizwan may have fumbled his bat in diving in at the non-striker’s end but has he got it down?
FOUR! Pakistan 66-0 (9.1)
That will help! Babar Azam isn’t in full control as he cuts at a bouncing Chakravarthy ball that moves away from him but there’s enoguh fury in his wrists to skew a thick outside edge over the fielder at short third man and away for four.
Pakistan 62-0 (9), M Rizwan 32 (27), B Azam 28 (27)
That’s the sort of blow that Pakistan needed to strike, just keeping them trundling along at somewhere reasonably near the required rate. It’s 8.18 runs an over required from here - very, very doable with wickets in hand.
SIX! Pakistan 61-0 (8.5)
Large! Babar Azam rocks back and brings his bat through cleanly as the ball sits up invitingly, pulling it into the third row of fans over deep midwicket. It’s a short boundary, but that was a crisp strike.
Pakistan 55-0 (8.3)
Jadeja continues and drives three left-arm darts on a length, with Pakistan able to get each of them away for a single.
Pakistan 52-0 (8), M Rizwan 30 (25), B Azam 20 (23)
More good stuff from vexing Varun. He’s bowling just short of a length and Pakistan are trying to play him off the pitch, struggling to pick his variations. This will be the first time they’ve seen him in the flesh, unlike most of the big stars at the tournament who have had the displeasure of not picking him at the IPL.
Pakisan 49-0 (7.3)
Rizwan nearly over-balances as Chakravarthy gets a ball to spin viciously down leg. He jut about keeps his toe down as Rishabh Pant whips the bails off.
Pakistan 46-0 (7), M Rizwan 27 (21), B Azam 18 (21)
The other thing about Jadeja is that he properly races through his overs, doing so here for the concession of only three.
Spin at both ends - Virat Kohli has a chinwag with Varun Chakravarthy at the top of his mark. It looks like it might be the way to go against this pair who have manipulated the spinners well.
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