Get news about every cricket! Follow us

Team India dictated terms against Pakistan in the first innings of the match as participants Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took three wickets each. Pakistan batsmen Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed completed the innings with the bat as the Men in Green reached 159/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Talking about proceedings, India won the toss and decided to bowl first on the green track. Indian players, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh, were all over the Pakistani openers as Mohammad Rizwan looked clueless in the first over with several plays and misses.

Pakistan were dealt a heavy blow by Arshdeep Singh who trapped skipper Babar Azam and sent him back to the pavilion on a golden duck. Shan Masood then took to the crease but he too struggled. He also survived a close run early in his innings when Virat Kohli missed the stumps.

However, the Men in Blue did not have to wait long to grab the second wicket as Arshdeep trapped Rizwan after throwing him a bouncer and Kumar completed the catch. Pakistan were in big trouble at that stage, but batsman Iftikhar Ahmed and Masood forged a vital partnership between them.

Iftikhar Ahmed counter-attacked against the Indian spinners

Pakistan were 15/2 after the fourth over with Iftikhar joining Masood at the crease. The two batsmen played cautiously at first, but soon they started dictating terms against the Indian spinners, especially Iftikhar. He smashed 21 runs against Axar Patel and also reached his fifty in the same over.

Under pressure, Rohit brought Mohammed Shami back into the attack with a crucial breakthrough after the dismissal of Iftikhar. The next over Hardik took two wickets in the same over and broke the backbone of Pakistan’s batting.

The Men in Green continued to lose wickets as Hardik and Arshdeep scalped the wickets of Mohammed Nawaz and Asif Ali respectively, with Masood at the other end. Some big knocks from Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf along with Masood’s fifty with the bat meant that Pakistan set India a target of 160 runs.

Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions:



https://www.crictracker.com/twitter-reactions-cricket/twitter-reactions-arshdeep-singh-and-hardik-pandya-restrict-pakistan-to-159-in-the-world-cup-clash/

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR