World Cup 2023: India make it 8-0 vs Pakistan after Rohit Sharma and bowlers pummel arch-rivals

Rohit Sharma hit a 63-ball 86 while Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj picked.

Two wickets apiece as India maintained a clean slate against Pakistan in ODI World Cups. India have now defeated Pakistan in all 8 matches between the two teams in ODI World Cups. India had won in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2019 before recording an emphatic victory on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the 2023 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck against Australia in India’s tournament opener on October 8 but he has since been in sensational form. He hit a record breaking hundred (131 off 84 balls) against Afghanistan on October 11; he went past Sachin Tendulkar for most hundreds in ODI World Cups and smashed the fastest World Cup hundred by an Indian.

On Saturday, India chased a mere 192 after a stunning bowling performance on a flat pitch. Jasprit Bumrah was unplayable and returned figures of 2 for 19 off 7 overs after mixing his pace, bowling cutters and largely making life difficult for Pakistan’s batters. Mohammed Siraj had provided India with their first breakthrough when he dismissed Abdullah Shafique while Hardik Pandya got the wicket of a well-set Imam-ul-Haq. Pakistan were on the road to recovery thanks to a partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who never looked threatening against India’s top-drawer bowling line-up.

Babar Azam did score his first ever half-century in ODIs against India but he fell to Mohammed Siraj soon after reaching the milestone. That dismissal in the 30th over triggered a dramatic collapse for Pakistan. Kuldeep Yadav snared Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed in the 33rd over before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Rizwan for 49 in the 34th over. It was a listless display from Pakistan’s batters on a good cricket pitch which offered something for every kind of cricketer. India’s pacers showed what could be done with a clever mix of pace while the two spinners Kuldeep and Jadeja exhibited the virtues of control and bowling to their fields.

Jasprit Bumrah picked his 8th wicket of the tournament when he dismissed Shadab Khan in his 6th over while Hardik and Jadeja shared the last three wickets to bowl Pakistan out for 191.

ROHIT HITS RECORD-BREAKING 86
That chase was never going to bother India. Rohit Sharma hit a boundary off the first ball of the innings from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shubman Gill, who missed the first two matches against Australia and Afghanistan due to dengue, smashed a boundary off his first ball on World Cup debut. India were in cruise mode from the start and even though Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply, Rohit Sharma never took his foot off the accelerator.

Shubman Gill looked good before falling to Afridi and his short innings gave a glimpse into the weeks ahead. He has been in superb form this year and will indeed play a crucial role for India in the World Cup. Virat Kohli was dismissed by Hasan Ali for 16; this was the first time in 11 years that Kohli got out against Pakistan in any World Cup match without scoring a half-century.

Rohit Sharma was not remotely rattled by the twin dismissals and continued to treat the Pakistani bowling attack with utter disdain. He wanted to get back to the mindset which helped him score 5 hundreds in the 2019 World Cup. After a duck against Australia in India’s first match of this World Cup, Rohit hammered 131 off 84 balls against Afghanistan and was just 14 runs away from another hundred before falling to a slower ball from Afridi in the 22nd over. By then, India were on the cusp of victory and the captain had once again done his job.

Rohit Sharma could have become the only India captain to score a World Cup hundred Pakistan but he did break Virat Kohli’s record for the highest score by an India skipper versus Pakistan in World Cups. Kohli had scored 77 in Manchester in 2019 before Rohit’s 86 on Saturday.

Rohit Sharma also became the first India batter and the third after Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle to hit 300 sixes in one-day internationals.

There was a lot of hype for his match, as one would expect for an India-Pakistan match in a World Cup. But India showed why are they are miles ahead of Pakistan. It was one of the most one-sided ODIs between the two rivals. India were convincing in 2015 and 2019 but the latest World Cup win over Pakistan was something else.

Pakistan were no match with the bat and Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer completely decimated their bowling attack with shots that would stay in the memory of every Indian who cheered for their team either from the stands or from their TV and mobile screens.

India will next take on Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune while Pakistan will face Australia in Bengaluru on October 20.