Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed the turning point of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 game between Pakistan and India in Ahmedabad played on October 14.
India bundled out Pakistan for 191 and chased the total in the 31st over. The Men in Green were 155-2 and faced a big collapse as they lost eight wickets for 36 runs only.
The No.1 ranked batter Babar Azam was the top-scorer, making 50 off 58 balls. He hit six fours and it was his first fifty in the seventh innings against India.
Harbhajan, who has 269 ODI wickets to his name, thinks the dismissal of the Pakistan skipper was the turning point of the game.
"Babar was playing well and he and Rizwan were building a great partnership," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
"At that moment, Indian captain Rohit Sharma played his card and brought Mohammad Siraj back. Siraj is a bit pacy and when he dismissed Babar, Pakistan collapsed badly," he added.
It must be noted that India carried on to their fantastic form in the ICC World Cup 2023 and recorded a seven-wicket win against Pakistan.
Rohit Sharma showcased his batting skills once again and top-scored for the winning side with 86 off 63 balls. His rapid knock included 12 boundaries.
Other than the 36-year-old, Shreyas Iyer was the second top-scorer for the winning side as he contributed 53 runs.
The dominant batting display by the Indian batters saw the home side reach the 192-run target in the 31st over, with 118 balls to spare, massively improving their net run rate (NRR).
This was India’s record eighth win in as many matches against the arch-rivals in World Cup history.
- Harbhajan Singh