India topple New Zealand to claim top spot in World Cup table after thrashing Pakistan

India have climbed to the top of the ICC World Cup 2023 points table after crushing Pakistan by seven wickets in their third match of the tournament. Read more about how India extended their unbeaten streak against Pakistan in World Cups and who were the star performers.

India have soared to the top of the ICC World Cup 2023 points table after demolishing Pakistan by seven wickets in their third match of the tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. India have maintained their perfect record in the World Cup, winning all their three matches so far, and have a superior net run rate of +1.821, which puts them ahead of New Zealand, who also have six points from two matches.

India extend their unbeaten streak against Pakistan in World Cups

India’s victory over Pakistan was their eighth consecutive win over their arch-rivals in the World Cup, extending their unbeaten streak that started in 1992. India dominated the match from start to finish, as they bowled out Pakistan for 191 in 46.4 overs, and then chased down the target with 117 balls to spare.

India’s fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were the stars with the ball, as they shared five wickets between them and kept the Pakistan batsmen under pressure throughout. Bumrah was named the man of the match for his brilliant spell of 2-19 in nine overs, while Shami took 3-35 in 8.4 overs.

Pakistan’s innings never got going, as they lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to build any partnerships. Only Babar Azam (56) and Mohammad Rizwan (43) showed some resistance, but they could not prevent Pakistan from being bowled out for a below-par score.

Rohit Sharma leads India’s chase with a blistering 86

India’s chase was a walk in the park, as Rohit Sharma led the way with a blistering 86 off 63 balls, hitting six fours and six sixes. He added 97 runs for the first wicket with KL Rahul (28), and then 71 runs for the second wicket with Shreyas Iyer (36). Rohit fell short of his century, as he was caught by Hasan Ali off Shaheen Afridi in the 19th over, but by then India had already reached 168-2.

Rishabh Pant (18) and Hardik Pandya (16) finished off the chase in style, as they hit some lusty blows and took India home in 28.5 overs. Pakistan’s bowlers had no answer to India’s batting prowess, as they conceded 12 fours and nine sixes in total.

Virat Kohli praises his team’s performance, Sarfaraz Ahmed rues lack of runs

India’s captain Virat Kohli was delighted with his team’s performance, and praised his bowlers and Rohit for setting up the win.

“It was a very professional performance from us. The bowlers set the tone for us by bowling brilliantly and restricting them to a low score. Rohit was outstanding with the bat, he played some amazing shots and made it look very easy. It was a great team effort and we are very happy with the result,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.

Pakistan’s captain Sarfaraz Ahmed admitted that his team was outplayed by India, and rued the lack of partnerships and runs on the board.

“We were not good enough today. We lost too many wickets early on and could not recover from there. We needed to score at least 250-260 to challenge India, but we fell short by a big margin. India played very well and deserved to win. We have to learn from our mistakes and come back stronger in the next matches,” Sarfaraz said.

What’s next for India and Pakistan?

India will now face Bangladesh in their next match on October 19 in Pune, while Pakistan will take on South Africa on October 22 in Mumbai. Both teams will hope to continue their winning momentum and secure their places in the semi-finals.

The ICC World Cup 2023 points table after India beat Pakistan is as follows:

Team	Matches	Wins	Losses	Ties	No Results	Points	Net Run Rate
India	3	3	0	0	0	6	+1.821
New Zealand	2	2	0	0	0	4	+1.604
South Africa	1	1	0	0	0	2	+2.040
England	2	1	1	0	0	2	+0.553
Bangladesh	2	1	1	0	0	2	-0.653
Australia	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.883
Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.161
Netherlands	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.800
Afghanistan	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.907
Pakistan	3	0	3	0	0	0	-2.000