Twitter reaction: Team India thrash arch-rivals in marquee clash

The much-awaited marquee clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 finally got underway as India took on Pakistan at Birmingham. Much against the will of the fans and the players, the match was interrupted by rain on multiple occasions. It all eventually boiled down to a 41-over a side affair. The defending champions ended up thrashing the men in green by 124 runs to get first points on the board.

Earlier in the day, the age old rivalry kicked off with Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed winning the toss and opting to field first. In walked the Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, to open the innings. The duo added a splendid 136 run opening stand to put India in a commanding position in the game. The partnership was broken when Dhawan was dismissed on 68.

Skipper Virat Kohli came into bat at number three and continued fancying his chances against his favored opposition. The innings saw a bit of a crunch with the run flow being choked for a while. But both Rohit and Kohli started the onslaught soon after. Rohit was unlucky to be run out on 91 in the match. Kohli then added a fiery partnership with Yuvraj Singh to up the ante in the innings.

Yuvraj blasted a quickfire 53 that came off just 32 balls with 8 fours and a six. The crowds went berserk to see the vintage Yuvraj show on the night. Towards the end, Hardik hit three consecutive sixes in the final over to help India finish with 319/3 in 48 overs. Skipper Kohli remained unbeaten on 81 off 68 balls. In the run chase, the Pakistani team were never in the hunt.

Barring opener Azhar Ali, no other batsman could show resistance. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals as the Indian bowlers shared wickets among them. Umesh was the pick of the bowlers with 3/30 to his name. Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. The run chase wrapped up on 164 in 33.4 overs as India registered a 124 run win.

Here is how the Twitterati went berserk after India’s win: