DUBAI: Captain Babar Azam led by example as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup match for the first time ever with a 10-wicket romp in a Super 12 blockbuster at the T20 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 percent win record against them in limited-overs World Cups.
Babar remained not out on 68, while Rizwan made an unbeaten 79.
India is second in the ICC rankings while Pakistan is third with a difference of only 5 rating points. Pakistan has played a significant role in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Both the teams have won the World Cup once, while traditional rivals have the honour of being runners-up only once. The Shaheen have the experience to play in the semi-finals.
Babar Azam is also second in the individual rankings. The psychological advantage of the national skipper is that he snatched the top position from Virat Kohli who is now at number four.
President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated the cricket team for clinching the victory.
In a tweet, the president said: “Congratulations Green Shirts. Total Wipeout. A win by 10 wickets. You make us proud. A good match. Tremendous batting by Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. What a pleasure to see total dominance. Going towards a good ending.”
The prime minister said: “Congratulations to the Pakistan Team & esp to Babar Azam who led from the front, as well as to the brilliant performances of Rizwan & Shaheen Afridi. The nation is proud of you all.”
