India vs Pakistan happened on 11th Sept and the day before so it was a 2 day match instead of a One Day International. The reserve day which was kept for this match was criticized but the decision makers proved right in the end as the full match was completed and India beat Pakistan by 228 runs which is their highest margin of victory against them in ODI Cricket. This match was great for the Indian team in every way possible and Pakistan were brought back to earth
Let’s look at this match that was a game changer in many ways
India give Pakistan a 228 run thrashing
This match started on Sunday 10th of September and Pakistan won the toss and they chose to bowl first thus putting India in first. The Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave India a very good start and they added 121 runs for the first wicket. Shubman Gill was the first one to attack Shaheen Shah Afridi and he attacked him by hitting him for 6 fours in the match. Shubman Gill made a good 58 from 52 balls but he will be disappointed that he was not able to hit a hundred. The same can be said about Rohit Sharma who made 56 from 49 balls but got out hitting a big shot. And India ended the first day at 147 for the loss of 2 wickets.
Yesterday the match resumed and there have been few better days for Indian cricket where everything went right. First Virat Kohli and KL Rahul started where they left off on Sunday as they started piling on the runs. There were 25.5 overs to be bowled by the Pakistan bowlers agd Haris Rauf was out with an injury. It was KL Rahul who was hitting the boundaries at first as he hit 12 fours and 2 sixes in his comeback innings of 111* meaning a total of 60 runs in boundaries. Virat Kohli was different as he ran across the pitch and he hit 9 fours and 3 sixes in his brilliant 122* from just 94 at a strike rate of 130. The Pakistani Bowlers were not able to take any wickets in 25.5 overs and the pair added a total of 233 runs for the 3rd wicket. Virat Kohli also became the quickest batter to get to 13000 runs in ODI cricket.
India gave Pakistan a massive target of 357 runs and from the start of the Pakistan innings it was chaos. Jasprit Bumrah was unplayable and he dismissed Imam Ul Haq at the score of 17 Runs and Hardik Pandya clean bowled Babar Azam for 10 from 24 balls. From there it was the Kuldeep Yadav show as in the next 6 wickets that fell ,5 were taken by Kuldeep Yadav. He bowled 8 overs and only gave away 25 runs and took 5 wickets. Pakistan lost 7 wickets for 85 runs and they were all out for 128 as both Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are injured and out of the Asia Cup. And India will play Sri Lanka today meaning 3 back to back days for the Indian team on the park. This will be a true test for the players. This 228 run beating has silenced many doubters in India as well as the over confident people in Pakistan.
