Colombo: Pakistan cricket team has once again repeated the history of losing World Cup matches against India and was ruined by the classic Indian batting and bowling performance in the super eight round of the Twenty20 World Cup 2012, here on Sunday.
In all ICC tournaments, India and Pakistan have played 10 matches with India winning eight and Pakistan winning two. The two victories for Pakistan came in the Champions Trophy.
Indian batsmen easily chased a low scoring target of 129 runs with three overs to spare against an experienced Pakistani bowling attack.
Pakistani bowlers seemed helpless against the outstanding batting from Indian batsman Kohli, who scored 78 runs from 61 balls. Virendar Sehwag 29 and Yuvraj Singh 19 also accompanied Kohli in chasing the target.
Pakistani bowlers failed to bowl out Indian batsmen and took only two wickets in the innings. Raza Hasan and Shahid Afridi were the only two bowlers who shared one wicket each.
Earlier, India restricted Pakistan to 128 in 19.4 overs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan lost their four top-order batsmen within 50 runs after opting to bat against India.
Balaji took three wickets for India and Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh took two wickets apiece.
Presentation Ceremony:
Virat Kohli: (Man of the match) The key is to stay calm. In the previous match, I was thinking too much. Today, I was more relaxed.
I went out and played my natural game and it worked. I have worked hard on my game. As long as I play 10-15 overs, it helps the team. The pitch is much slower in the day and it does something under the lights.
Batting is much better in the second part of the game. Playing Pakistan is a high-pressure game and I hope to continue my form.
Indian captain (Dhoni): ‘The team responded well. The players looked relaxed. After a couple of loose overs, Irfan and Zaheer bowled well. The part-timers also contributed. Balaji was great.
Kohli has been consistent in all formats and it is good that he is taking the responsibility. He looks to score runs every time and Sehwag batted well after the loss of Gambhir. Sehwag can accumulate runs quickly against the spinners once he settles in.
We were not thinking ahead and we had a nice warm-up session. The support was good for both the sides. In the first over, Sehwag told me that it is nice to play in front of a big crowd. At the end of the day, it feels nice to play in front of a full crowd.’
Pakistani captain (Hafeez): ‘We could not set a good total. We lost wickets at regular intervals. The batsmen could not settle in and we could not build partnerships. India played well and Virat Kohli batted very well. It was a difficult track to bat on and his innings put India on track.
We wanted to win the game and we wanted to put pressure but it did not materialize. We have to improve our fielding. It is a must-win game for us against Australia and we will come back positively.’
Dear TNT Reader,
At The News Tribe, our mission is to bring you free, independent, and unbiased news and content that keeps you informed and empowered. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism, as we understand that we are a platform for truth.
Apart from independent global news coverage, we also commit our unique focus on the Muslim world. In an age marked by the troubling rise of Islamophobia and widespread misrepresentation of Muslims in Western media, we strive to provide accurate and fair coverage.
But to continue doing so, we need your support. Even a small donation of 1$ can make a big difference. Your contribution will help us maintain the quality of our news and counteract the negative narratives that are so prevalent.
Please consider donating today to ensure we can keep delivering the news that matters. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world, and work towards a more inclusive, informed global society.
Donate Monthly Subscription Annual Subscription