The Men in Blue had a great start in the World Cup 2023 game against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The Indian bowlers restricted the Men in Green to just 191 runs. Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first at the world’s biggest stadium. Pakistahj batters had a good start with Shafique and Imam building a good stand.
But then Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj helped the hosts with their first breakthrough in the form of Shafique. Not only Siraj but the whole bowling unit played a crucial role in restricting Pakistan to a below-average total of 191 runs in 42.5 overs.
It was the Pakistan skipper who was the only one to stand with the bat, scoring fifty runs. But Siraj chipped in and removed him in the 30th over of the game. After witnessing Babar’s dismissal, Indian fans went crazy including the famous Bollywood singer Arijit Singh. In the video that is doing rounds on social media, Arjit was spotted waving his t-shirt from the stands to celebrate Babar's wicket.
This is also Pakistan's lowest total against India when it comes to the ODI World Cup after they were bundled out for 180 runs back in 1999.
Left-arm chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav also bowled well, picking up two wickets after conceding 35 runs. He removed Saud Shakeel (6) and Iftikhar Ahmed (4) in quick succession.
During the time of the toss, Babar Azam said, "We also wanted to bowl first. We have had good two wins, and momentum and confidence is high. Jam-packed stadium, we will enjoy it. We want to be good in the field, we had a couple of good practice sessions. Same team for us".