Thanks to a fiery opening spell from Shaheen Afridi and a resilient batting display from Babar AzamPakistan galloped to a dominant 10-wicket victory over India in the T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The victory tarnished India’s unblemished record against its neighbours in World Cups.   

Afridi broke the spine of the Indian top order, dismissing openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to draw first blood for Pakistan

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The 21-year-old left-arm pacer sent the ‘Hitman’ packing for a golden duck with a delivery angling back in at yorker length to beat Sharma and crash into his pads for a plumb LBW decision. It was a straightforward decision for the umpire, who promptly raised the finger as Afridi celebrated in typical style.

Afridi then clean bowled Rahul with the very first delivery of his second over, nailing an in-swinging good length delivery that the 28-year-old mistimed in his effort to whip across the line as it crashed into the stumps.

Later in the innings, Afridi dismissed Virat Kohli, who scored 57 off 49 deliveries, with an outswinging delivery, as the Indian skipper hoped to clear the boundary ropes with his giant swing of the bat. 

Afridi’s performance earned him comparisons with legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram, with Twitter users lauding the youngster’s game-changing spell of 31/3 to jolt India early in the match.

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Following Afridi’s exploits, Azam joined the party when Pakistan came out to bat. Opening the innings along with Mohammad Rizwan, Azam strung a partnership of 152 off 17.5 overs and took their team over the line.

Azam scored 68 off 52 deliveries with six fours and two sixes. Rizwan ably supported his captain with 78 off 54 with an equal number of fours and three maximums from the other end.

Azam’s most productive shot in his innings was the flick shot that gave him 14 runs, including a boundary. The 27-year-old even silenced a lot of his detractors with his aggressive captaincy early on in the Indian innings and immaculate team selection. 

However, Pakistan will have tougher and more crucial challenges lying ahead if they are to lift the title and the duo of Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi will hopefully keep firing all cylinders for them throughout the tournament.