IND vs PAK: Rohit Sharma, bowlers make light work of Pakistan as India go on top of World Cup 2023 points table

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IND vs PAK, World Cup 2023: All-round India registered a thumping 7-wicket victory against Pakistan in match number twelve of the World Cup 2023 on Saturday, October 14. With the win, India maintained their clean slate against Pakistan at the ODI World Cup. They have now won each of their eight ODI World Cup matches against the arch-rivals.

Chasing 192, India were again off to a solid start courtesy Rohit Sharma who started from where he left in Delhi against Afghanistan. Comeback man Shubman Gill perished for 16 off 11 after a brilliant catch from Shadab Khan at backward point but over one lakh fans in the stadium got to witness the 'Hitman' show.

Rohit Sharma - India’s centurion in their last match - blasted 86 runs with the help of six fours and as many sixes off just 63 balls. He became only the third player in the history of ODI cricket to hit 300 sixes. Also, he equalled AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle's record for most five-plus sixes in a World Cup innings. Rohit has now hit five-plus sixes in three World Cup innings.

Rohit Sharma fell 14 runs short of his eighth World Cup hundred but fired India to an emphatic seven wickets victory with almost 20 overs to spare.

Virat Kohli could score only 16 off 18 balls but forged a 56-run partnership for the second wicket, denying Pakistan any comeback opportunity. He got out to Hasan Ali after mistiming a pull shot which landed straight into the hands of Mohammad Nawaz at mid-on.

Shreyas Iyer (53* off 62) finished the match with a four which also brought up his 14th ODI fifty. His partnership with Rohit accounted for 77 runs. KL Rahul also went unbeaten on 19 off 29.

Shaheen Afridi picked the wickets of Gill and Rohit but was taken to the cleaners by both the players. Haris Rauf's unimpressive run in India continued with another expensive outing. He leaked as many as 43 runs for six wickets without taking a wicket. Shadab Khan was also hammered for 31 runs in four overs.

Earlier in the day, India bundled out Pakistan for 191 in 42.5 overs after opting to bat first. Pakistan, who registered the highest-ever chase in the history of the ODI World Cup in their previous match against Sri Lanka, were cruising at 155/2 at one stage.

However, Babar Azam's wicket triggered a massive collapse. Once Siraj (2/50) dismissed the Pakistan captain Kuldeep Yadav (2/35) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/19 in seven overs) ran through the Pakistan middle-order. Hardik Pandya (2/34) dismissed Nawaz and then Ravindra Jadeja (2/38) picked the last two Pakistan wickets.

Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (20) and Imam-ul-Haq (36), Babar Azam (50), Mohammad Rizwan (49) and Hasan Ali (12) were the only five Pakistan players who scored in double digits.

The comprehensive win for India took them to the top of the 10-team World Cup 2023 points table. New Zealand also have won each of their first three matches but India have a better Net Run Rate (NRR) than the Kiwis. South Africa and Pakistan are occupying the third and fourth spots respectively.