It was a perfect fanboy moment for the Babar Azam when batting juggernaut Virat Kohli fulfilled his wish after the conclusion of India versus Pakistan's World Cup clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14.
India bulldozed arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets to stay perfect in the ODI World Cup as they notched their third successive win the ongoing showpiece event.
In a heartwarming gesture after the match, Virat Kohli gifted Babar Azam his autographed which captured the attentions of cricketing fans across the globe. Pakistan skipper Babar had a broad smile perched on his face when Kohli handed him the jersey.
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Pakistan posted a lowly total of 191 on the board despite Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's impressive knock. While Babar scored 50 off 58 balls, Rizwan chipped in with a 49-run knock as the duo stitched together a 72-run partnership. The crucial wicket of Azam, taken by Siraj (2/50), shifted the momentum in India's favor. A well-executed slow off-cutter by Bumrah (2/19 in 7 overs) sneaked through Rizwan's bat and pad, marking the conclusion of Pakistan's resistance.
In reply, Rohit Sharma's yet again blistering knock of 86 off 63 balls made sure India win the match without breaking a sweat. With this win India became the ODI World Cup 2023's table toppers with three consecutive victories. With this India topped the points table with three back-to-back victories and also extended their 31-year-long dominance against the arch-rivals in the the ODI World Cup. Notably, India have emerged victorious in all the eight ODI World Cup encounters against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, after the match, Babar admitted that Pakistan lost the match due to their batting fiasco.
“We started well, a good partnership. We just planned to play normal cricket and build partnerships. Suddenly, there was a collapse and we could not finish well. Not good for us, the way we started, our target was 280-290 but the collapse cost us. The total was not good. We are not up to the mark with the new ball,” Babar said in the post-match presentation.
Babar also showered praise on Rohit for his stunning knock.
“The way Rohit played was an outstanding innings. We just tried to take wickets, but that didn't happen,” he added.
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