2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Twitter Reacts As India Post Big Total Against Pakistan 1

All of India’s top four batsmen scored fine half-centuries, as the defending champions kick-started their Champions Trophy campaign on a strong note, scoring 319 for three in 48 overs in a rain-curtailed innings against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

The Men in Blue began the proceedings at Edgbaston in a cautious manner after being invited to bat first. With the pitch providing ample support early on, Mohammad Amir tested Rohit Sharma on more than on occasion, as he started the inning with a maiden. It was not until the fifth over that India scored their first boundary but as the match progressed both Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan settled down and runs started coming at a good rate.

But just when they seemed to have found their groove, the match was interrupted by rain. The defending champions were 46 for no loss off 9.5 overs when the players had to leave the field due to rain. Sharma was batting on 25 off 34 balls including four fours while Shikhar Dhawan was playing on 20 with one boundary in 25 balls faced when the game stopped. The game resumed after 50 minutes and fortunately, no overs were lost.

The near one-hour break, meanwhile, did not affect the momentum of the Indian openers, as both the batsmen began from they had left off. Rohit Sharma reached his fifty off 71 balls with a six in the 19th over while Dhawan completed his half-century off 48 deliveries.

The duo shared 136 runs for the first wicket before Dhawan hit a full-toss from Shadab Khan straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder. The southpaw scored 68 off 65 balls with the help of six fours and a boundary.

Sharma and Virat Kohli then took the score to 173 for one off 33.1 overs before rain returned once again. The rain-break, meanwhile, helped Pakistan team to regroup, as they tightened the screws on the batsmen once the game resumed and they were duly rewarded for it when a well-set Sharma was run-out against the run of play while trying to steal a single. The right-handed batsman scored 91 off 119 balls including seven fours and a couple of sixes.

Pakistan could have piled more pressure on the reigning champions had Hasan Ali not dropped a regulation catch from Yuvraj Singh when the batsman was batting on just eight. And Pakistan had to pay the price for dropping Yuvraj, as the southpaw scored a flurry of boundaries to ease the pressure off Kohli who was struggling to time the balls.

On the other hand, Kohli also hit the top gear towards the end, hitting a six to bring his fifty in the 45th over. In the next over, he hit Wahab Riaz for a couple of fours and a six before Yuvraj hit a six in the same over to bring up his fifty in just 29 balls.

The 93-run stand was broken when Yuvraj was dismissed by Hasan Ali for 53 in the penultimate over. But the real carnage began thereafter with Kohli hitting a four and a six in the 47th over before Hardik Pandya hit three sixes in the final over, as India finished their innings on 319.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the innings:

https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/871359375889313792

https://twitter.com/PatelSiddhant_/status/871348244462399489

https://twitter.com/Sarcasticdudee/status/871343585341259777