India maintain squeaky-clean 8-0 World Cup record against Pakistan

India fired on all cylinders in what was supposed to be war minus the shooting blowing away archrivals Pakistan by seven wickets in an ICC World Cup 2023 faceoff that ended in a damp squib after causing unbridled hysteria and logistical hasslesIn what is seen as the pinnacle of cricket by fans in the subcontinent Indian captain Rohit Sharma emerged as the undisputed star of the match scoring a 63ball 86 to power his team to the modest target of 192 with as many as 193 overs to spareJasprit Bumrah was a tiger on the prowl and Mohammed Siraj displayed wolflike aggression before skipper Rohit completed the annihilation as India produced a nearperfect performance in one of the most lopsided World Cup games between the archrivalsRohit just casually flaunted his repertoire of strokes which included a pull shot behind square of Shaheen Shah Afridi and a square driven six off Haris Rauf as India were home by 805 pm local timeAlso Read India Pakistan at war But this time its cricketThe win was Indias eighth in the 50 over global event where Pakistan had never been able to match their neighbours in terms of skill strategy or execution since 1992Just like he brushes his teeth drinks water pulling and hooking is a part of Rohits daily chores The 1150 gram willow is an extension of his arm and those strong but supple wrists does its job at his beck and call On the day it responded to his call 12 times six of which went over the ropesPeople love to err on side of caution but Rohit is ready to err on side of risk whether its spin of coin or dismissing a fast bouncer from his presenceThere will be days when he might fail and look silly but on days he succeeds he would look regal like he did on SaturdayIt is very difficult to better perfection but if anything was synonymous with perfection then decimating Pakistan for 192 in 425 overs would come closestFive bowlers showing different facets of bowling and sharing equal spoils is rarity but there couldnt have been a more opportune setting to tick all boxes like Rohits men did on the dayBumrah 219 in 7 overs Siraj 250 in 8 overs Kuldeep 235 in 10 overs Hardik Pandya 234 in 6 overs and Ravindra Jadeja 235 in 95 overs were relentless in their pursuit of choking the opposition into submissionThis Pakistan team never had the depth to compete with India and that one T20 World Cup game which India lost in Dubai back in 2021 was just an aberrationDemolition Pro Max Completely owned the Pakistanis 72 overs were enough for a result and what a winRohit spectacular Bumrah Kuldeep outstanding and a win to cherish Bharat Mata Ki Jai pictwittercomktwJuvNqdVmdash Virender Sehwag virendersehwag October 14 2023WATCH ICC World Cup An Indian fan in Ahmedabad Gujarat Ashish Patel says Two cheers for India Rohit Sharma did perfect captaincyINDvsPAK pictwittercom2USt8jGSxEmdash ANI ANI October 14 2023WATCH ICC World Cup An Indian fan says It was a paisa vasool match My entire family enjoyed it a lot World Cup will come to IndiaINDvsPAK pictwittercomtNpRaQkc3jmdash ANI ANI October 14 2023For the 1 lakh plus spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium the garba started one day in advance and the story of this absolute dominance by India will be remembered for times to comeFor the rest of the country Bengal can celebrate an early Durga Puja and in the northern part of India it could an early DiwaliMotera was the Indian cricket fans the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday One could be swayed by such atmosphere but just like Rohit his team has also learnt the art of staying in its bubbleIt was imposing and inyourface and at times intimidating The vibe was felt when the entire stadium sang the national anthemSiraj and Bumrah basically hoodwinked the Pakistan batters with the semiold ball and a bagful of tricks for which they had no answerThis was Pakistans second lowest score against India in ODI World Cup after the 180 allout in 1999The two new ball bowlers made the seminew ball talk by altering the length and using the wobbly seam to run through a circumspect middleorder and put India on course of their eighth victory in ODI World CupsKuldeeps role as the supporting protagonist was also laudable as he operated like a sly fox removing Saud Shakeel 6 and Iftikhar Ahmed 4 in quick succession to hasten the slideRohits decision to bowl first after winning the toss might have raised a few eyebrows but the Indian team always had things under control despite a 82run third wicket stand between skipper Babar Azam 50 off 58 balls and Mohammed Rizwan 49 off 69 ballsIt was a matter of one wicket and once Siraj got one to just move in a shade from a shorter length the Pakistan skipper misjudged it completely and remained rooted to his crease trying to steer it to third manThe sound of timber was what the entire Motera wanted to hearRizwan on cusp of his halfcentury got a wobbly seam slow offcutter from Bumrah 219 in 7 overs which entered through the gap between bat and pad as Pakistans resistance ended at that momentBabar and Rizwan had a partnership going but if one looks at how the ODI landscape has changed they were well behind par during the standWith two new Kookaburras used from both sides the balls dont generally get old but the two Indian pacers on a flat track altered the length suitably to make the inroads at the right juncturesIn case of Kuldeep he knew Saud and Iftikhar arent good at sweeping and it brought about their downfall It only helped that Jadeja was parsimonious at the other endWhen the Indian innings commenced it wasnt a question of how but when will they wrap up things Rohit ensured it happened in a jiffyWith inputs from agencies