India captain Rohit Sharma and his bowling unit led the men in blue in thrashing Pakistan by seven wickets in the mega contest of ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Saturday.
The chase of 192 runs seemed a cakewalk for India as Rohit slammed 86 off 63 balls with the help of six fours and six sixes.
Rohit Sharma in action during the match Rohit Sharma in action during the match
Though Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli looked promising but were dismissed for 16 each, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul made no mistake in finishing up the leftover job after Rohit, who missed his second consecutive ton by 14 runs, was shown the dressing room by Shaheen Afridi.
Shreyas, who is now sorted at number four slot, and Rahul remained unbeaten at 53 and 19 respectively to ensure India win the match, which was controlled by Pakistan until a major turnaround occurred in the 30th over when the visitors were batting.
India celebrate Mohammed SirajIndia celebrate Mohammed Siraj's wicket
The Pakistan batting line up, which was asked to take charge by Rohit who won the coin toss, collapsed from 155/2 to 191 all out, credit goes to the Indian bowlers, who barring Shardul Thakur picked two wickets each.
India's premier bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled out set Mohammed Rizwan for 49, led India with the ball and picked two wickets for just 19 runs in 7 overs powering the men in blue to clinch the third consecutive win in the tournament.
India celebrate Jasprit BumrahIndia celebrate Jasprit Bumrah's wicket
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who stitched an 82-run partnership with Rizwan for the third wicket, was sent back to the change room by Mohammed Siraj, who provided India the much-needed break despite being a bit expensive.