Pakistan’s 10-wicket win over India in their T20 World Cup 2021 opener was a historic moment. After a near three-decade long wait, Pakistan broke their World Cup jinx against India and defeated the Men in Blue in the biggest ICC tournament. Needless to say, the win meant a lot to a lot of Pakistanis – fans and players alike, who had waited for a long time to see their beloved cricket team beat India in a World Cup.
However, the image that highlighted the feeling was that of Azam Siddiqui, Babar Azam’s father, who could not control tears of joy from rolling down his cheeks following Pakistan’s win. Shortly after the match got over, the cameras captured Babar’s father unable to control his emptions, the video of which has since gone viral.
Babar reached where no Pakistan captain – including Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Aamer Sohail, Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi – had gotten. The above names led their teams in World Cup matches against India but returned victory less for 29 years. However, under Babar, Pakistan broke their barren run against India with a comprehensive win.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl, pacer Shaheen Afridi wrecked India’s innings, picking up 3/31. He dismissed India’s top three – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in which only the India captain was able to conjure an important knock of 57. Afridi trapped Rohit out LBW for a golden duck in the first over of the match, and had Rahul bowled in his next.
{{/usCountry}}After winning the toss and opting to bowl, pacer Shaheen Afridi wrecked India’s innings, picking up 3/31. He dismissed India’s top three – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in which only the India captain was able to conjure an important knock of 57. Afridi trapped Rohit out LBW for a golden duck in the first over of the match, and had Rahul bowled in his next.
{{/usCountry}}Returning for his second spell, Afridi handed India a huge blow when he dismissed the set Kohli, which meant that India could only post 151 runs on the board. All hopes of India picking up early wickets were doused by Pakistan openers Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. Both batsmen scored unbeaten half-centuries to take Pakistan home with more than two overs to spare. It was Pakistan’s first 10-wicket win and India’s first defeat by the same margin in T20 internationals.