Pakistan suffered a crushing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of India in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan’s innings folded for a below-par 191 in 42.5 overs after being asked to bat first. The Men in Green were 155/2 at one stage but suffered a collapse that saw them lose eight wickets for just 36 runs.
In reply, the hosts lost Shubman Gill (16) and Virat Kohli (16) early but skipper Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion, slamming 86 off 63 balls with 6 fours and as many sixes.
After Rohit’s dismissal, Shreyas Iyer (53*) and KL Rahul (19*) completed the formalities and took India over the line with 19.3 overs to spare.
Despite the embarrassing loss, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar backed his national team and asked Babar Azam and his men not to get demoralised by the defeat as there is still a long way to go in the quadrennial event.
"It was a disappointing performance from Pakistan. Our captain scored fifty and Rohit Sharma played an incredible knock (hamare kaptaan ne 50 kiya, unke kaptaan ne jigra dikhaya aur demoralize kiya) and demoralised Pakistan. Rohit has shown what class and calibre he has. India were brilliant, in fielding, bowling and batting and have comprehensively beaten Pakistan. India is now the top contender to win the World Cup. India might now repeat the 2011 history (India shayad 2011 ki history ko repeat kare). Pakistan have lost the game but Babar Azam and co. should not lose courage (aapne umeed nahi haarni). There is still a lot left in the tournament and Pakistan have a chance to qualify for the knockouts," Akhtar said in a video posted on X.
This was India’s third win in a row in the ongoing World Cup and they are now leading the points table on the basis of superior net run rate than New Zealand.
The Men in Blue will next face Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday (October 19).