Indian cricket team recorded a thumping seven-wicket win over Pakistan in their third ICC World Cup 2023 match on Saturday, October 14. Bowlers shone again to bowl out Pakistan on just 191 runs while bowling first and then a sensational fifty from captain Rohit Sharma helped India register their eighth ODI World Cup win against their arch-rivals.
Both teams entered the game having won the opening two World Cup 2023 matches but it proved as a one-sided game at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Rohit won the toss and elected to bowl first with Shubam Gill returning to their playing XI. Pakistan fielded the same eleven after their record-breaking win against Sri Lanka in the previous game.
Pakistan managed to produce a positive start with Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique adding 41 runs for the first wicket. Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya gave India initial success with two wickets in quick succession but Pakistan made a comeback with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan adding an impressive 82-run partnership for the third wicket.
Babar registered his maiden ODI fifty against India to return to his form and put Pakistan in a good position for a big total. But Siraj gave India a breakthrough with Babar's wicket in the 30th over and that shifted the momentum for India. Pakistan lost five wickets inside six overs after Babar's dismissal. Rizwan scored 49 runs to go top in the scoring chart in the tournament but that was not enough to save Pakistan from getting bowled out on 191 runs in 42.5 overs.
India started explosively while chasing a low-scoring total with Rohit smashing a four off Shaheen Afridi on the very first ball. Returning Shubman Gill smashed four boundaries on his debut World Cup match but lost his wicket after scoring quick 16 runs. Rohit and Virat Kohli kept the scoreboard moving with a 56-run stand for the second wicket.
Kohli looked in good rhythm but was dismissed by Hasan Ali after scoring 16 runs off 18 balls. However, Rohit kept India in a dominant position with a 36-ball fifty and top-scored with 86 runs off 63 balls. Shaheen dismissed Rohit to give Pakistan their third success but was not enough for them to make a comeback. Shreyas Iyer smashed his first ODI World Cup fifty and KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 19-run knock to ensure an easy win for India.
Jasprit Bumrah won the Player of the Match for taking two wickets for 19 and also topped the bowling chart in the tournament with eight wickets in three innings. A win boosted India to top of the points table with six points in three games while Pakistan remained in fourth place with four points.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.
