New Delhi: A record-breaking 100-plus opening stand between openers Mohammad Rizwan (79*) and skipper Babar Azam (68*) powered Pakistan to an emphatic 10 wicket win over India in their opening game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Dubai.
Pakistan totally outclassed the Men in Blue in batting, bowling and fielding to break their 12-0 losing streak across 50-overs and 20-overs World Cups against India. 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 was the highest partnership for Pakistan against India for any wicket in T20Is.
While many team India fans are yet to recover from the heart-breaking loss against Pakistan, a video of legends Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq dancing inside a TV studio to celebrate Pakistan's win over India has gone viral on social media. Pakistan have almost booked a semi-final berth in Group 2 with three consecutive wins.
Despite the crushing defeat against New Zealand, India's hopes of reaching the semi-finals are still alive.
To reach the semi-finals, Afghanistan will have to beat New Zealand and India will have to win their remaining matches with a higher net run rate than the other teams.
Also India, in their next matches in the tournament, need to beat Afghanistan, Scotland or Namibia by a margin of 50 or more than 100 runs. If Afghanistan manages to defeat Kiwis by 50 or more runs, then India will have a chance to qualify for semi-finals. Also, if New Zealand defeats Scotland and Namibia by 50 or more runs, India will still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals.