The feeling is real! Virendra Sehwag in his latest social media post accurately summed up the reaction of almost every cricket fan post last night's World Cup match between India and Pakistan.
"When you hope to see a close #IndvsPak World Cup match but what you keep on getting is a one-sided contest!" Sehwag tweeted.
Brilliant knocks from Rohit Sharma (140) and Virat Kohli (77) before the magnificent spells by the bowling unit guided India to beat Pakistan by 89 runs at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.
Rohit celebrated his 24th ODI hundred before Kohli became the fastest player to make 11,000 ODI runs in his 222nd innings. The India captain's milestone smashed master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar's record which he had completed in his 276th innings.
Soon after rain arrived at the venue and the players walked off with India on 305/4 in 46.4 overs. After almost half-and-hour, the hover cover was removed. The umpires checked the 30-yard circle and declared mid-innings break of 15 minutes and no overs were lost.
Following the resumption, a quick Amir bouncer helped Pakistan bag the pricey wicket of Kohli, who was caught behind for 77. Vijay Shankar (15*) and Kedar Jadhav (9*) dragged India to post 336/5.
Chasing a competitive target of 337 runs, Pakistan faced an early hiccup as Imam-ul-Haq was leg-before off the fifth ball of the fifth over by debutant Vijay Shankar, who completed the over as Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked off the field due to tightness in his left hamstring.
Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam recovered Pakistan well in time, adding 104 runs for the second wicket. However, in a span of 12 runs, the arch-rivals lost four crucial wickets. Kuldeep Yadav bagged two quick wickets -- Babar (48) and Fakhar (62). Hardik Pandya joined the party and he earned two wickets in an over -- Mohammad Hafeez (9) and Shoaib Malik (0), reducing Pakistan on 129/5.
Imad Wasim (22*) and Sarfaraz Ahmed tried to rebuild Pakistan's innings but their brief 36-run stand came to an end as Shankar returned and dismissed Sarfaraz for 12.
The rain interrupted the match after 35 overs. However, after almost 50 minutes, the match was curtailed to 40 overs and the run-chase was adjusted to 302 runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method. Pakistan needed 136 runs off just 30 balls. Imad and Shadab were left stranded on 46 and 20, respectively, and Pakistan fell short by 89 runs.
India will next take on Afghanistan on June 22 at the Rose Bowl, while Pakistan will meet South Africa on June 23 at the Lord's.
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