The much-awaited India vs Pakistan match finally got underway at its scheduled time. India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
India opener Rohit Sharma tackled Shaheen Afridi cautiously early on. There was a brief rain interruption after 4.2 overs of India’s innings, after which, though, it was the Shaheen Afridi show as the left-arm fast bowler rattled the stumps of both the seniormost Indian players – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, pushing India to early trouble at 27/2.
One of the biggest concerns for the fans of the Indian team was how Rohit Sharma himself was going to face and be able to tackle the challenge posed by the very threatening Shaheen Afridi. For Shaheen Afridi, Rohit Sharma had opted for a more open stance this time, compared to the stance he had two years when he faced Shaheen.
The Indian captain had done well for a couple of overs to carefully keep out Shaheen Afridi’s full and length balls. However, after the rain break, the fast bowler corrected his lengths – he dragged his lengths a little back and this paid rich dividends for the 23-year-old Pakistani speedster.
His first dismissal, of Rohit Sharma, came via a terrific setup. He slanted a couple of balls across to Rohit that Rohit played and missed. The next ball was an inswinger that pitched on middle and off and straightened. Rohit Sharma played for the slanted across the line – he played for the delivery just outside the off-stump, but the ball beat his inside edge and knocked over his off-stump. Shaheen Afridi was pumped out, so were his teammates, as he unfurled his trademark celebration.
Watch: Shaheen Afridi’s sensational ball that took out Rohit Sharma’s off-stump
https://twitter.com/medicorepublic/status/1697922919660191853?s=20
In his next over, he got the big wicket of Virat Kohli as well, the right-hander inside-edging another back-of-length delivery onto his stumps. Haris Rauf, too, got into the act and dismissed Shreyas Iyer to leave India reeling at 48/3 inside 10 overs.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
