Haris Rauf was taken to the cleaners by the Indian batters 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.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball for India, claiming two wickets by conceding only 19 runs in his seven overs.
In reply, Rohit Sharma made a mockery of Pakistan’s bowling attack as the Indian captain slammed 86 off 63 balls to put his team on the brink of victory. After his dismissal, Shreyas Iyer (53*) and KL Rahul (19*) completed the formalities and took the hosts over the line with 19.3 overs to spare.
Following the game, Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram heaped praise on Bumrah, calling him a clever bowler and one of the best in the world.
“Jasprit Bumrah is a clever bowler, one of the best in the world. When he was not getting any swing initially, he was hit for a couple of fours but restricted the flow of runs after that. Everything was finishing within the stumps and that was a slow ball to dismiss Rizwan. Any batter would have got out on the delivery that got Shadab Khan,” said Akram while speaking to A Sports.
On the other hand, Akram was critical of Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf’s performance. Rauf was taken to the cleaners by the Indian batters as he conceded 43 runs in his 6 overs and failed to claim a wicket.
“There's an attitude about a bowler. Talking about Haris Rauf, and nothing against him as he's been Pakistan's main bowler. I think that he will only pick wickets when batters go after him. I've never seen him swing the ball and pick wickets like Bumrah did today. He has pace but he has to improve his length for one-day cricket,” Akram added.
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).