IND vs PAK | Twitter reacts as Kohli-Rahul's record-breaking night helps India thrash Pakistan by 228 runs

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Pakistan proved to be no match for India's batting prowess in Colombo on Sunday as they were overwhelmed by their rivals in a one-sided affair. Tons from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul helped the Men in Blue post a daunting target of 357 before some clinical bowling restricted Pakistan to a paltry 128.

Being sent in to bat first, India's opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill kept Pakistan's ferocious new-ball pair of Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah at bay with clear intent. While the latter struck Afridi for six boundaries in two overs, Rohit waited for spin to come into play before thrashing Shadab Khan to all parts of the ground as both brought up their half-centuries in quick time. Their opening stand of 121 set the stage perfectly for Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who showed restraint initially but when play resumed at 147/2 on the reserve day, the two took little time to break the shackles. Rahul was the first to break the shackles by punishing the opposition spinners for a flurry of boundaries and got to a run-a-ball century in his comeback game. Kohli, meanwhile, accelerated from 50 to 100 in just 29 deliveries to get to his century in just 84 balls, becoming the fastest ever to 13,000 ODI runs in the process. He capped off the innings with a maximum and two boundaries to end on 122, accumulated at a strike rate of 129.78, while the partnership remained unbeaten on 232 -- the biggest ever for India against Pakistan as well as the biggest ever in Asia Cup history.

In response, Jasprit Bumrah found rhythm early despite bowling for the first time in ODIs since July 2022 and capped off his opening spell by scalping Imam ul Haq in the fifth over. Once Hardik Pandya got the better of opposition skipper Babar Azam with a jaffa immediately after the powerplay, there was no coming back for the Men in Green with wickets falling at regular intervals. Kuldeep Yadav emerged as the star turn with the ball, returning brilliant figures of 5/25, to fold out the official hosts in just 32 overs thus handing India a record-breaking victory.

Hitman 

Very crucial

Boom

Absolute scenes

True

Darn disappointing

Victory

Heart broken

Big mouths

The best

Won!!

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