India 151/7 in 20 overs, Pakistan need 152 to win in 120 balls
India and Pakistan renewed their high-profile but one-sided cricket rivalry on Sunday in a T20 World Cup blockbuster watched by hundreds of millions of fans across the globe.
Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi took three wickets, including skipper Virat Kohli for 57, but India managed 151 for seven in their high-voltage Twenty20 World Cup clash on Sunday.
Left-arm fast bowler Afridi returned figures of 3-31 after a lethal first spell to hurt India after they elected to field first in the Super 12s encounter in Dubai.
Virat Kohli's India have beaten Pakistan in all of their 12 matches at the T20 and 50-over World Cups.
OUT! Shaheen Shah Afridi gets the wicket! Full ball, pitching outside off. Kohli gets forward and plays a poor pull, but is spectacularly caught by Mohammad Rizwan. Kohli departs for 57
17.5 - OUT! Caught. Good length from Hasan Ali, pitching outside off. Jadeja gets forward and skies a drive, and is spectacularly caught by Mohammad Nawaz on the on side.
12.2 - OUT! Caught. Shadab Khan pitches one up, pitching on a good line. Pant gets forward and plays a shaky sweep, and is caught by Shadab Khan down the ground.
5.4 - OUT! Hasan Ali gets the wicket! Full, outside off. Yadav pushes forward and outside edges, and is remarkably caught by Mohammad Rizwan. What a catch by Mohammad Rizwan!
2.1- OUT! Shaheen Shah Afridi breaks through! Full ball, on a good line. Rahul moves onto the front foot but makes no contact, the ball gets through, and Rahul is bowled.
0.4 - Rohit Sharma has no answer to Shaheen Afridi's yorker and is trapped plumb in front!He walks back for a first-ball duck!
Fans of India and Pakistan called for "peace" and more cricket between the two Asian giants as Pakistan won he toss and chose to field in crunch clash against arch rivals India in Twenty20 World Cup Super 12 match on Sunday."We should play each other more often. It is such a treat to see these two teams on the cricket field," Mohammad Ashraf, a Pakistan national working in the United Arab Emirates, said."Virat Kohli versus Hasan Ali, what a contest! Politicians should not spoil all this for their own gains. Let them play cricket. I pray for peace between the two nations."
There have been protests in India with calls to boycott the match in the wake of recent killings of 11 migrant workers and minority Hindus and Sikhs in Indian-administered Kashmir.
"I brought a ticket for the game as soon as it went online. I mean you look forward to these contests, especially when you are far away from home," Pankhuri Raj Mehta, an Indian who works in Abu Dhabi since 2017, said.
"I know there has always been trouble with Pakistan. But that's for the politicians to sort out. I will enjoy the game with my husband."
Tickets for the contest were sold out just hours after they went online and many private online channels are offering resale of the entry passes at ridiculous prices. But the International Cricket Council (ICC) said the resold tickets would be invalid.
The excitement is palpable in Dubai but some see this as inappropriate due to tensions between the nations.
"I find this exercise pointless. People are being killed in the border area and we are playing cricket," Raghuveer Singh, an Indian who is visiting Dubai for Expo 2020, told AFP. "First stop the bloodshed and then play as much as you want."
Virat Kohli's India come into the contest with an unbeaten 5-0 record in the tournament.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said "records are meant to be broken" and the fans echo their captain's sentiments. "We will win inshallah (God willing). See it's a new day," said Hasan Sheikh, a Peshawar-born who drives a taxi in Dubai.
"We have a good team with Babar as the captain and our bowling is great. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali will hurt India."
