India defeated the top-ranked ODI squad Pakistan with an impressive 228-run victory in the match that was postponed by rain on Sunday and Monday in Colombo. Following centuries from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, the pacers made life difficult for the top order, and Kuldeep Yadav’s five-wicket haul sealed the victory. In terms of runs, this is India’s largest ODI triumph over Pakistan.
On the second day of the two-day match, Rahul and Kohli scored hundreds and put together the biggest ODI partnership for India against Pakistan, totaling 233 runs, to increase the misery for the opposition, who was forced to bowl without a full complement of bowlers. As a preventative measure, Haris Rauf was removed from bowling duty after scans revealed an irritation in his oblique muscle.
Iftikhar Ahmed’s occasional spin was called upon by Babar Azam to fill in for the five overs that Rauf was unable to bowl, and the Indian pair duly benefited from it. As the innings progressed and Rahul and Kohli started to score more easily, none of the Pakistani bowlers ever came close to effecting a breakthrough. India reached a mammoth 356/2 in 50 overs thanks to the pair’s 92 runs in the final eight overs.
After the batters had finished showcasing their prowess and talents, India’s quicks grabbed the central stage. When they got the ball to nip both ways, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made the Pakistan openers at the crease leap and jump. Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan and the No. 1 ODI batter in the world right now, was made to appear under those standards by Bumrah as he continued to chase after balls that frequently swung away and beat the outside edge.
Imam-Ul-Haq was playing for the inward angle when Bumrah bowled around the stumps when he fell in the fifth over, but he was squared up and nicked the ball that straightened in its place. Fakhar Zaman struggled against Mohammed Siraj, who alternated fluidly between balls that went straight from the middle-stump line and ones that were slanted across the left-hander. Babar didn’t start scoring until 8.2 overs into the chase because of how accurate India was with the ball. Like his skipper, Zaman found it difficult to connect bat and ball and register runs on the scoreboard.
Babar managed to get by two ferocious five-over stints from Bumrah and Siraj before being utterly stumped by a brilliant nipbacker from Hardik Pandya in the eleventh over. Babar was split in half by Pandya’s shaky seam, which also caused the ball to dart quickly in and strike the stumps. By the time that period was complete, showers kept teams off the field for a little over an hour. India picked up where they left off as the game continued without any overs being lost. By squaring up Mohammad Rizwan, who stole the ball and gave it to KL Rahul early in the chase to take over keeping responsibilities from Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur emulated Hardik Pandya’s first-over triumph. Before Kuldeep Yadav permanently destroyed Pakistan’s pursuit, Hardik and Thakur continued their probing, making things difficult for Zaman and new batter Agha Salman.
When Zaman succumbed to the pressure of the increasing asking rate and attempted a crazy swing, which he missed and was bowled, Kuldeep already had his first wicket. After that dismissal, Pakistan only scored 51 runs as Kuldeep went on the rampage. Agha Salman, who intended to employ the sweep shot to be proactive against the spinner, perished with it since he was caught leg-before. Salman returned with a review. The following player, Shadab Khan, was coaxed into a powerful shot with a tossed-up delivery, but he was only able to hit it as far as Shardul Thakur at long-on.
Iftikhar Ahmed’s long hop straight back to the bowler during Kuldeep’s fourth over gave him a bit of a gift, and Faheem Ashraf’s cleanup off a wayward pitch followed. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah were injured during India’s innings and were unable to bat, hence the game finished with 128 for 8 in 32 overs.