Wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan recalled Pakistan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup 2021 ahead of their first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against the United States.
The memories of Pakistan’s victory are still fresh as that was the first time the Green Shirts had defeated India in World Cup history and not just defeated, they dominated the arch-rivals and recorded a historic 10-wicket win.
Rizwan and Babar Azam chased down the 152-run without losing a wicket in 17.5 overs.
The wicketkeeper batter stated that at first, he wasn’t taking the match against India any different than the other ones but after winning the tie, he realised that they had achieved something historic.
“For me, it was all a first, whether it be playing in a World Cup or in such a big match. So I was feeling quite normal, I didn’t think this was any different from any other match. But when we won, that is when I realised what we achieved. In Pakistan, say I go for shopping somewhere, people won’t take money,” Rizwan said during an event in the USA, as per NDTV.
“Then I stopped going out for shopping because they just weren’t taking money from us, they were all commending us for beating India. Everyone I met was commending us for the win. Once when I went to someone’s room they had the match playing on television and said that they watch it everyday,” he added.
It must be noted India and Pakistan have met seven times in T20 World Cups where India won five matches while Pakistan won only one encounter. The remaining T20I resulted in a tie with India winning via bowl out.
Pakistan will once again lock horns with India at New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9 in one of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup.
The last meeting between the rivals in the shorter format was in the T20 World Cup 2022 where Virat Kohli guided India to victory while playing one of the best knocks in the tournament’s history.
- Mohammad Rizwan
