Team India is playing its first match of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23). The match at Melbourne Cricket Ground is taking place exactly a year after the Men in Green secured their first-ever win over India in World Cup history last year in Dubai. And in a complete turnaround from that game, this time the Men in Blue are all over Pakistan.
India had a dream start to the game when Arshdeep Singh, in his first two overs, got rid of both Pakistani opening batters, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. They were both on fire against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup match, but on Sunday, they were a complete disappointment
And then, when Arshdeep was taken off the attack, Hardik Pandya joined the party in the middle. He accounted for the dismissal of three opposition batters in the middle overs. He dismissed Shadab Khan (5), Haider Ali (2) and Mohammad Nawaz (9) on the big day in front of a jam-packed MCG crowd.
He got rid of Shadab and Haider in one over, and his reaction after getting the wicket of Haider Ali went viral on the internet.
The 22-year-old youngster is one of the most talented batters in the Pakistani team and was impressive in the side’s last game against New Zealand during the recently concluded tri-series. But in the high-voltage match against India, he was unable to do much and was sent back for just two runs from four balls.
He attempted to play a big shot against Hardik Pandya but was unable to clear the ropes and was caught by Suryakumar Yadav. After Surya completed the catch, Hardik was seen passing a cheeky smile to Haider, and this reaction went viral on the internet.
