In a thrilling cricket match in Ahmedabad on October 14, Pakistan suffered a stunning batting collapse against archrivals India. What started as a promising innings quickly turned into a nightmare for Pakistan, as they were bowled out for a mere 191 runs. At one point, it seemed like Pakistan had control of the blockbuster clash when they were at 155/2, but their last eight wickets fell for a mere 36 runs.
India won the crucial toss and chose to put Pakistan to bat first on a pitch that progressively became slower. The Pakistani openers were cautious against Jasprit Bumrah, but Imam-ul-Haq managed to find the boundary three times off Mohammad Siraj in the opening over. With the pitch offering lateral movement, the Indian seamers consistently bowled at a good length and focused on hitting the stumps. Surprisingly, it was Siraj who struck first, as a back of a length delivery stayed lower than expected, trapping Abdullah Shafique leg-before-wicket.
Hardik Pandya, who initially conceded boundaries, made a strong comeback to dismiss Imam, who edged behind while attempting a drive. However, Pakistan found hope in the form of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who began the rebuilding process. Both batsmen survived nervy moments but gradually gained control of the match. While Babar played elegant shots, Rizwan initially adopted a more cautious approach.
Rizwan, who was on 14 off 23 balls at one point, eventually found his groove against spin, scoring boundaries against both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Despite Rohit Sharma bringing Siraj back into the attack, the duo asserted their dominance by hitting him for a boundary each in his new spell. At one stage, India appeared to be in trouble as both Babar and Rizwan held sway, with Pakistan well-placed at 150/2 after 29 overs.
Babar, who had surpassed 50 for the first time against India in ODIs after seven attempts, saw a Siraj delivery skid and knock his off stump, providing India with an opening. However, few expected that this opening would trigger such a dramatic collapse, as the Indian bowlers wreaked havoc.
Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saud Shakeel leg-before-wicket and had Iftikhar Ahmed bowled around his legs in the same over, while Bumrah returned to claim the key wicket of Rizwan for 49 runs with an off cutter. In just 27 deliveries, Pakistan’s fortunes took a drastic turn, and any hopes of a lower-order resistance quickly vanished. India capitalized on the opportunity and wrapped up Pakistan’s innings in the 43rd over.
Brief scores: Pakistan 191 in 42.5 overs (Babar Azam 50, Mohammad Rizwan 49; Jasprit Bumrah 2/19) vs India