With seven balls left, Pakistan gave India a target of 172 for the match, which they won first.
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The match was played amid lingering tensions between the two countries following a military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May, and there was no handshake between the teams’ players once more.
As Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf appeared to exchange heated words with Sharma and Gill, there was a clear rift between the two players that threatened to erupt in the innings.
After Fakhar Zaman (15) fell early, Pakistan had a 72-run partnership with Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub for the second wicket, which laid the groundwork for its innings.
Farhan, who was dropped by Sharma in the opening over, made it 91-1 with 10 overs to complete his half-century.
In the following six overs, Pakistan could not hit a single boundary, with Ayub (21), Hussain Talat (10) and Farhan (58 off 45) all getting out quickly.
In the final three overs, Pakistan advanced to a competitive 171-5 lead thanks to unbeaten knocks from captain Salman Ali Agha (17 of 13) and Faheem Ashraf (20 of 8).
Sharma completed his half-century with four boundaries and four sixes when he made the announcement by hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six on the opening play.
Before Faheem Ashraf bowled Gill (47 off 28), India appeared to be cruising to a quick victory in the 10th over.
In the very next over, Captain Suryakumar Yadav fell to Haris Rauf (22-46) for a duck, and Sharma (74 off 39) was quickly dismissed by Abrar Ahmed, temporarily throttling India’s chase.
In the final two balls of the innings, Tilak Varma (30 of 19) hit Afridi for a six and a four, but India, who defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in the group stage, still managed to get past the halfway point.
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Source: Aljazeera
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