As scripted, it started as one of the fiercest rivalries in world sport. India had put their unbeaten start on the line here, while Pakistan were hoping to boost their chances of reaching the semi-finals. But it ended – as is customary – with India riding roughshod over the Men in Green.
It had been a day of disruption with the players on and off the field all afternoon. But finally we had an outcome — India had defeated Pakistan by an emphatic 89 runs! Rohit Sharma starred with the bat – his 140 is the highest in an India-Pakistan encounter.
There were cameos from Virat Kohli who smashed 77 and KL Rahul, who notched 57; Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar picked key wickets.
For the record, India have now won all their 7 World Cup matches against Pakistan. And mind you, they were not firing on all their cylinders, without Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (who was ruled out of the match after bowling 2.4 overs).
Even the rain gods were on India’s side. The drizzle hovered over Old Trafford all day but there were only 2 major interruptions – one towards the end of the Indian innings and the other when Pakistan were on the verge of a huge defeat.
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