The Indian batters' biggest nightmare became a reality on September 2 (Saturday) when Shaheen Shah Afridi bamboozled Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli with two stunning deliveries during the Asia Cup contest between India and Pakistan. It was a fantasy start for Babar Azam's Men in Green and for the Men in Blue, it was a complete disaster. The build-up for the high-voltage game revolved around how Indian batters tackle Afridi's nippy and swinging deliveries. As it turned out, the left-arm seamer proved too hot to handle, at least for Rohit and Virat.
'Hitman' was the first casualty for India. After being handed a lifeline on the second delivery of the match by Fakhar Zaman, the Indian skipper tried hard to negate the swinging deliveries from Pakistan seamers. He played and missed on numerous occasions before Afridi delivered an absolute peach to rock Rohit's off-pole.
A good length delivery that jagged back into Rohit brought the 'Hitman's' downfall. The ball snuck in between Rohit's inside edge and his pad before dislodging the off-stump. Rohit departed after scoring 11 runs off 22 balls with the help of two fours.
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After Rohit's departure, in walked Kohli with the expectations of over 1.4 billion people on his shoulder. The maverick batter played a delightful cover drive that made Indian fans inside the stadium jump out of their seats in sheer ecstasy. The celebrations were short lives as Afridi found the inside edge of Kohli's willow and the ball went back to the right-handed batter's stumps. India were rocked early and it was Afridi's magic that did the trick for Pakistan once again.
Kohli departed for just four runs off seven deliveries, six of which were dot balls, including the ball on which he was dismissed by Afridi.
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India were tottering at 2/27 at 6.3 over mark when Kohli was sent back to the pavilion. Later, Shreyas Iyer displayed some intent and unleashed a couple of boundaries before Haris Rauf's bouncer ended his vigil at the crease.
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