Five Big Moments From India’s 89-Run World Cup Victory Over Pak

A look at five big moments from the game on Sunday at Old Trafford, that saw India comfortably beat Pakistan.

(Photo: The Quint)

A massive 336-run target, a bit of rain and yet another poor batting display from the Pakistani side saw India extend their lead over their arch-rival to 7-0 in World Cup matches.

Put in to bat first after Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss, India, powered by Rohit Sharma's 140 (113), set a target of 337. Pakistan, in reply, reached 166/6 in 35 overs before rain caused a temporary halt to the proceedings.

On resumption, the revised target was 302 and they had to chase it down in 40 overs. Only managing to reach 212/6, the Pakistanis fell to their third defeat of the tournament.

Here’s a look at five big moments that helped turn the game in India’s favour:

1. A Solid Opening & a ‘Daddy’ Hundred

India debuted the opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit in Manchester after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out for the next few weeks due to a thumb fracture.

After a few jitters at the start, including a run out scare, both openers found their rhythm and there was no stopping them after that – not for the next 136 runs at least.

In their massive opening stand, Sharma and Rahul also broke a 23-year-old record held by Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Sidhu.

Their 136-run stand is now India’s highest opening partnership against Pakistan in a World Cup match. Tendulkar and Sidhu had posted 90 in the 1996 World Cup.

Rahul smashed a 57 in his debut game as opener in a World Cup match but it was Sharma who once again headlined for India and went onto score his second century of this World Cup.

His 140 off 113 balls, in fact, is also his second straight ODI hundred against Pakistan. It’s also the highest individual score in an India-Pakistan World Cup match and the first ODI hundred by an Indian at the Old Trafford cricket ground.

2. Virat’s Milestone and ‘Hit-Wicket’

India’s second-highest partnership was the second wicket stand between Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli, that added 98 runs.

Virat too looked in fine form in his innings of 77, during which he also became the fastest cricketer to breach the 11,000 ODI runs milestone, eclipsing a 17-year record held by the iconic Tendulkar.

Virat took 54 fewer innings than Tendulkar to get to the landmark.

However, Kohli couldn't convert his great start into a century because of his much talked-about ‘self-wicket’ moment, where the Indian skipper elected to walk off even before the umpire had signalled the dismissal!

Served a short ball by Mohammad Amir, Kohli thought he’d nicked the ball on it’s way to Sarfraz behind the stumps and decided to walk. However, replays later showed that the ball hadn't connected with Kohli’s bat.

Kohli’s decision, however, did not have much of an impact on the team though, as they managed to put up 336 in their 50 overs.

3. Bhuvi’s Injury And Shankar’s Silver Lining

It seems injuries and India’s match days are becoming synonymous. After losing Dhawan, India will now be without the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the next two-three matches, after he strained a hamstring injury during Sunday’s match.

In the fifth over, Kumar picked up the injury midway through his over, and immediately headed into the dressing room to get assistance.

Two balls were left in Kumar’s over and in stepped Vijay Shankar, Dhawan’s replacement for the match.

After copping a lot of flak for his “3D” selection, Shankar showed just why he’s in England, picking Imam-ul-Haq’s wicket off his very first ball.

4. The Pakistani Fightback

Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam did give Indian fans a bit of a scare with their 104-run second wicket stand but that scare only lasted till Kuldeep Yadav sent both players packing, within nine balls of each other.

Hardik Pandya too joined the party, sending back Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in back-to back deliveries.

5. A Tame End

What started as a promising contest – with the rain staying away for most of play – eventually saw a tame ending, with Pakistan surrendering meekly to India’s tenacity.

They were on 166/6 in 35 overs when rain disrupted play at which point they were 86 runs short of the par score, according to the Duckworth-Lewis system.

When play did resume, their chase was reduced to 40 overs with a revised target of 302, meaning they needed 136 from five overs – which eventually proved too much.

India won the match comfortably by 89 runs, their seventh straight World Cup win over Pakistan.