Pakistan trounced India by 10 wickets in Dubai to get the T20 World Cup tournament started to a victorious start. At the outset of the chase, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got Pakistan off to a fast start in Dubai. After seven overs, the tandem led the team to a score of 46/0. They put another 50-run partnership between themselves as they continued to put India on the back foot.

At the midway point, they had Pakistan at 71/0. The two then added 100 runs to their stand, and Babar Azam hammered 50 as Pakistan reached 101/0 after 13 overs. Rizwan eventually reached his fifty and stayed unbeaten on 79, partnering Babar’s 68 not out, as Pakistan cruised home with 2.1 overs to spare.

Pakistan has been assigned a goal of 152 in 20 overs by India. Team India got off to the worst possible start after being sent in to bat. Shaheen Afridi caught Rohit Sharma LBW on 0 in the opening over. He was dismissed for a golden duck. Afridi then removed KL Rahul on 3 in his following over by upsetting his timber.

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Suryakuamar Yadav hit a couple of strokes and kept the scoreboard ticking at 4, but he was removed by Hasan Ali in the sixth over. India eventually reached 36/3 following the Powerplay. India scored 24 runs in the following four overs to keep the run rate high. India launched their comeback with Rishabh Pant increasing the ante and Kohli playing second fiddle.

Shadab Khan caught and bowled him after he smashed two one-handed sixes. After 15 overs, India had reached 100/4. After Kohli’s 29th T20I fifty, India finished with a total of 151/6 in 20 overs. Kohli was out for 57 runs.

The major talking points of the first match for both teams in the T20 World Cup:

Trouble facing the left-arm pacers

Those who have consistently followed Indian cricket for the past few years know that the Indian top-order really struggles against the left-arm pace bowlers who have the ability to bring the ball back into the right-handers. Mohammed Amir troubled the Indian batsman during the 2016 Asia Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Trent Boult has been a constant threat to the Indian top order. In this match, Shaheen Afridi proved to be the nemesis for KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rishabh Pant’s rash shots in the T20 World Cup opener

Pant decided to smash Shadab Khan over the cow corner which was the longest boundary end in the stadium, at a crucial stage in the match. Pant was threatening to take the game away from Pakistan and had just hit two one-handed six against Hasan Ali in the last over. Given the circumstances and the stage of the match, that shot was not on.

Hardik Pandya’s inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad and final team

Hardik Pandya has not been in form with the bat for quite a long time now. Also, he is not serving his role as a pace-bowling all-rounder. He is struggling with his fitness and is not bowling. So, the big question ahead of the match was whether the Indian team will go ahead with him. However, captain Virat Kohli and the team management decided to back him. However, Hardik failed to prove them right and even suffered an injury scare.

Ishan Kishan’s exclusion from the playing eleven

Ishan Kishan has been devastating in the last few matches for Mumbai Indians. He was also in great form in the warm-up match against England, heading into the first game of the T20 World Cup. He was very destructive while opening the innings.

However, with the opening partnership of Rahul and Rohit, Kishan had to sit out of the game. The Indian team did miss his firepower at the top of the game. It was shocking to see him missing from the playing eleven of the T20 World Cup opener.

Lack of a sixth bowling option

India went into the game with 5 bowlers only. With Hardik Pandya, not bowling, they did not have a proper sixth bowling option. That lack of 6^th bowling option did prove costly, as Virat Kohli did not have the option to turn to anyone when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami went for runs