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Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur expressed his desire for the World Cup final between the arch-rivals after India registered a comprehensive victory against Pakistan on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium here.
Pakistan had no answers to India's collective all-round display as they succumbed to a below-par total of 191. After the game, Arthur heaped praise on the Indian team and expressed the intention of both teams meeting again in the final. "Yeah, I do. This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again," Arthur said in the post-match conference. Coming to the match, India won the toss and put Pakistan to bat. The 'Men in Green' were cruising in the first innings with skipper Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq settled on the pitch. However, Pakistan fell apart as Indian bowlers started to showcase their prowess as they forced Pakistan's downfall from 155/2 to 191 all out as as Babbar Azam-led men suffered a collapse, losing the last eight wickets for 36 runs. The Indian batters were well poised from the beginning to chase the Pakistan total of 191. Shubman Gill, who made his first appearance in the ODI World Cup, scored some scintillating hits before losing his wicket. He struck three consecutive fours off Hasan Ali in the second over of the Indian innings. Shubhman was out on Shaheen Shah Afridi's bowling and the hope his wicket may have generated among Pakistan fans was short-lived. Virat Kohli joined Rohit, who was smooth in his power hitting. Kohli also came up with some strong blows before he was caught off the bowling of Hasan Ali during the powerplay. Rohit and Shreyas took charge and strode along even as Pakistan bowlers tried hard to get a breakthrough. The sea of Indian fans, many of them dressed in blue, cheered and waved as Indian batsmen struck. Rohit fell short of his well-deserved century by 14 runs. Shaheen claimed his second wicket of the night with Rohit walking back to the pavilion with a score of 86. In his well-paced innings, Rohit crossed the milestone of 300 ODI sixes which have come in 254 matches. With 351 sixes in 308 games, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi leads the tally, while West Indies legend Chris Gayle hammered 331 maximums in 301 encounters. After Rohit's departure, Shreyas 53* and KL 19* guided India to a comprehensive 7-wicket victory to make it 8-0 in the World Cup between the two arch-rivals. (ANI)
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