Mumbai, India (CU)_ It was this fabulous day (March 30) that India beat arch-rival Pakistan to reach the finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2011. The Indian team was headed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India retained its perfect winning record against Pakistan in the World Cup tournament after beating Pakistan by 29 runs in the World Cup semi-final at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.
After winning the toss in the match against Pakistan, India chose to bat first. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar added 48 runs until the first wicket, with Sehwag giving the first ball of the game for four once again. Sehwag shattered Pakistan’s Umar Gul for 21 runs in the third over of the innings as part of their partnership.
Wahab Riaz sent Sehwag (25) back to the pavilion in the sixth over of innings, giving the match a step forward. Tendulkar, on the other hand, kept India in the game and kept the scoreboard going in their favor. Tendulkar was dropped at least four times by Pakistan, and the Master Blaster made them pay back. Tendulkar (85) was eventually dismissed in the 37th over by Saeed Ajmal, who sent the Master Blaster back to the pavilion. In the end, India’s batting slumped, but Suresh Raina contributed 36 runs which lifted India’s tally to 260.
With Pakistan chasing target 261 set by India, Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez added 44 runs for the first wicket, but India’s Zaheer Khan broke it in the ninth over, sending Akmal (19) back to the pavilion. Pakistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals after Akmal’s dismissal, and there was no scope of winning the match. All five bowlers of India including Zaheer, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh each took two wickets and packed up Pakistan for 231, giving India a 29-run victory, which led the Indian team to the World Cup finals.
The team met Sri Lanka in the finals. After defeating Sri Lanka in the final, the MS Dhoni-led team won their second 50-over World Cup title. The Men in Blue have retained their winning against Pakistan in the World Cup tournaments, beating them in both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. Moreover, in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, India beat their arch-rival.
