Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi who was the player of the match vs India in his team opening clash of T20 World 2021 said that it was a really good feeling to secure a win against India in the ICC men’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan beat India for the first-time any World Cup after a 10-wicket win on Sunday.
The inaugural champions were the favourites but the way Pakistan played the game was brilliant. Chasing the target of 152 runs Pakistan openers started in a attacking mode and very they got to the 100 runs partnership. The duo of Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam remained not out in the chase and scored half-centuries.
“To be honest, a really good feeling to win against India in World Cup. It is a special thing for us Pakistanis. First of all, congratulations to the whole of Pakistan. They all were sitting and praying for us. So yeah, I think we had a plan and just executed it,” said Afridi in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
He also credited his skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan for putting up an unconquered partnership of 152 runs, which helped Pakistan get over the line with 13 balls to spare. “The way Rizi (Rizwan) and Babar finished the game and the way they’re playing, I think credit goes to these two. They were like a one-man army swinging the bat. It’s good for Pakistan to start good in our first game. We’re looking forward to more games.”
Brief scores: India 151/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 57, Rishabh Pant 39, Shaheen Afridi 3/31, Hasan Ali 2/44) lost to Pakistan 152/0 in 17.5 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 79 not out, Babar Azam 68 not out) by ten wickets.
Pakistan’s next match in the tournament will be against New Zealand on Tuesday in Sharjah. India will also play New Zealand next on October 31.
