Twitter Reactions: Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya restrict Pakistan to 159 in the World Cup clash

Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed completed fifties with the bat for Pakistan.

By Pranchal Srivastava

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3 Min Read

Team India against Pakistan.
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Team India against Pakistan. (Photo Source: BCCI/Twitter)

Team India dictated terms against Pakistan in the first innings of the match as pacers Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took three wickets each. Pakistan batters Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed completed fifites with the bat as the Men in Green reached 159/8 in their allotted 20 overs.  

Speaking about the proceedings, India won the toss and opted to have a bowl first on a green track. Indian bowlers including Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh were all over the Pakistani openers as Mohammad Rizwan looked clueless in the first over with several plays and misses. 

With just one run from the first over, Pakistan was given a heavy blow by Arshdeep Singh who trapped the skipper Babar Azam to send him back to the pavilion on a golden duck. Shan Masood then took to the crease but he was struggling as well. He also survived a close run-out early in his innings as Virat Kohli failed to hit the stumps. 

However, the Men in Blue did not have to wait to grab the second wicket as Arshdeep then trapped Rizwan after bowling a bouncer to him as Kumar completed the catch. Pakistan were in a lot of trouble at that stage but batter Iftikhar Ahmed and Masood stitched a vital partnership between them. 

Iftikhar Ahmed counter-attacked against Indian spinners 

Pakistan were 15/2 after the fourth over with Iftikhar joining Masood at the crease. The two batters played cautiously at first, but they soon started dictating terms against the Indian spinners, particularly Iftikhar. He smashed 21 runs against Axar Patel and also reached his fifty in the same over. 

Under pressure, Rohit brought back Mohammed Shami to the attack as he provided the crucial breakthrough after dismissing Iftikhar. The very next over Hardik took two wickets in the same over and broke the backbone of Pakistan's batting line-up.

The Men in Green continued to lose wickets as Hardik and Arshdeep scalped the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali respectively with Masood stranded on the other end. Some big hits from Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf alongside Masood's fifty with the bat meant that Pakistan gave a target of 160 runs to India. 

Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions:

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T20 World Cup 2024IndiansPakistanIftikhar AhmedArshdeep SinghShan MasoodHardik Pandya