India and Pakistan finally got down to action at the iconic and famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. This is the two teamโs first game of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Pakistan came into the game after beating India for the 1st time in a World Cup last year in UAE during the T20 World Cup 2021. India on the other handed wanted to set the record straight against their arch rivals.
The story as it happened โ
India won the toss and chose to bowl first as the overcast conditions and the pitch promise swing and seam movement for the Indian new ball bowlers. India surprised everyone by playing Ashwin instead of Chahal as Pandya too started the game. For Pakistan, Shan Masood was in the XI after having suffered a knock to his head a few days prior and being taken to hospital.
Arshdeep gives Rizwan a send off โ
Rohit Sharma gave the new ball to Arshdeep for the 2nd over and in the very first ball he got the wicket of Babar Azam. The Pakistan captain went up for DRS but the decision stayed as out. Rizwan was looking to cut loose but a short ball by Arshdeep did the trick. Rizwan was caught at fine leg by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to leave Pakistan reeling at 15/2. Arshdeep was seen giving Rizwan a glare and motioned him the direction of the dugout.
Masood and Iftikhar try to build the innings โ
At the time of writing, Pakistan were 60 for 2 from 10 overs as Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood had put on 45 run stand for the 3rd wicket. Pakistan have a fit again Shaheen Afridi in their line up along with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf as the pace bowling options. The Indian team will look to make a winning start and put the loss of last year behind and get their tournament off to a good start.
Twitter reacts โ
The wicket of Rizwan elicited cheer from the Indian fans on Twitter as they also loved the reaction by Virat Kohli. You can read all the tweets below
โ MINI BUS 2022 (@minibus2022) October 23, 2022
โ MINI BUS 2022 (@minibus2022) October 23, 2022
Rizwan just connected 2 balls with the bat
โ Thinker (@Apkabahihu) October 23, 2022
One a leg side full toss & one he lost his wicket#INDvPAK
ARSHDEEP TAKE DOWN BABAR AND RIZWAN. HE TAKES CRUCIAL WICKET FOR INDIA, ARSHDEEP BOWLING PERFORMANCE TODAY IS UNMATCHABLE .
โ Deepanshu (@DEEPANSHUBUSWA7) October 23, 2022
AND HE KNOW THAT! #INDvsPAK #ICCT20WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/fFbRGYLkIt
After Babar and Rizwan Wicket.! #arshdeepsingh be like๐ pic.twitter.com/PccjgUdJwN
โ ููุจู ู ูู ูโ (@QalabeMomin) October 23, 2022
Arshdeep ne Rizwan ki wicket leke maana ๐ญ๐ฅ What a bowler!#INDvPAK
โ Shubham Dutta ๐ (@RealShubham_7) October 23, 2022
Another wicket ๐ฅ#arshdeepsingh #T20worldcup22 #T20WorldCup2022
โ Amulya๐โข ๐ธ (@MbMsd_FanGirl) October 23, 2022
Rizwan Gone pic.twitter.com/4LkIaBCfwi
King pumped up after Rizwan's wicket.#PakVsInd #INDvsPAK2022 #ViratKohli๐ต #T20WC2022 pic.twitter.com/1mAst1Mdtp
โ Protozoa (@Stfu_dheeraj) October 23, 2022