'Pakistan Outplayed Us...': Virat Kohli Reflects On India's Maiden World Cup Loss Against Pakistan

During the post-match presentation, team India skipper Virat Kohli said India didn't execute properly and Pakistan outplayed them today.

New Delhi: Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in the Super-12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday at Dubai International cricket stadium. Batting first after losing the toss, India had set a target of 152 runs, courtesy captain Virat Kohli's hard-fought half-century and his 53-run stand with Rishabh Pant after Shaheen Afridi (3/31) rattled the star-studded Indian batting lineup with his magical spell. 

In reply, half-centuries from captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan chase down the target in just 17.5 overs. This is Pakistan's first win over India in World Cup history (ODI and T20). Rizwan remained unbeaten on 79 off 55 balls with the help of 6 fours and three sixes, while his partner Babar Azam scored an unbeaten 68 runs off 52 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. 

During the post-match presentation, team India skipper Virat Kohli said," We didn't execute properly. Credit where it's due and Pakistan outplayed us today. They started brilliantly with the ball, and 3 wickets for 20 runs was not a good start. We needed wickets early but with the bat they gave us absolutely no chances. It played slow in the first half and hitting through the line was not that easy as it was in the second half, after 10 overs.

"We needed those 15-20 extra runs and for that we needed a good start but Pakistan's bowling didn't allow us to get those extra runs. We could make the argument of getting in another slower bowler, but it's important to stay composed and understand our strengths, because with the dew the slower bowlers couldn't be effective either. This is just the first game of the tournament, not the last," he added.

For the first time ever, India lost a T20I by 10 wickets and Pakistan won a T20I by 10 wickets. The unbeaten 152-run partnership between Azam and Rizwan is the highest partnership for Pakistan against India for any wicket in T20Is.