India faced a humiliating loss by 10 wickets against Pakistan in their first Super 12 game of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday. Pakistan finally broke their World Cup losing streak against India, thanks to Shaheen Afridi's fiery spell with the new ball followed by Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batter Rizwan’s unbeaten partnership of 152 in 17.5 overs to ensure a resounding victory for the men in green.
“It is the good wishes of my parents and all Pakistanis. Very happy with my performance. The plan was to bring the ball back in. I was just trying to swing it and I was just looking to give the team a breakthrough.
That was what I practiced in the nets as well yesterday. Batting against the new ball was tough. The credit goes to Babar and Rizwan for the way they played. All teams are good in the tournament and we will look to carry this momentum through and go to the finals,” Afridi said in the post-match conference.
Following Pakistan's triumph over India, player of the match Shaheen said he is really proud of his team and how well his plans played out.
“This is the first time we’ve beaten India and I feel proud. I knew it would be good for us if I got early wickets and that worked out. My idea was to get as much swing as possible,” the left-arm pacer added.
The left-arm pacer took the wickets of Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with the new ball and kept the pressure on in the powerplay overs. Later in the innings, the 21-year-old got the wicket of skipper Virat Kohli to ensure India don't dominate in death overs.
Pakistan will now face off New Zealand in their next encounter of the Super 12 stage on October 26 at Sharjah.
