India kicked off their champion's trophy defence with a crushing 124-run victory over a ragged pakistan were broken br Virat Kohli.Kohli's unbeaten 81 hit all the right notes as India plundered 117 from their last 10 overs 72 of which came from the final 24 deliveries ,on their way to a winning score of 3-319..
But Pakistan were passive opponents,dreadful in the field,flaky under crucial catches and unable to mount a credible chase when asked to pursue 289 in 41 overs on Duckworth/Lewis method after a series of rain delays,to add injury insult,key seamers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz limped out of an already limited attack and latter was unfit to bat,leaving his team 9-164 at the close..
By the time they donated a succession of wickets to seal their defeat they looked evry inch a team ready to take their leave,not just of his contest but the competition as a whole.Rohit Sharma outscored Kohli at the head of the Indian innings,making 91,but chewed up 63 dot balls and advanced at a modest strike-rate of 76..
Yuvraj Singh's ebullient 53 proved better entertainment though he was dropped by Hasan Ali on eight and Kohli reprieved on 47 as Pakistan botched the basics.Pakistan had won the toss and after a minute's silence for the london terror attack saw Amir send down a brilliant first over.It was all downhill from there ,the fielding gaffes began almost immediately,Ahmed Shehzad fluffing a regulation stop at point as Sharma and Dhawan cantered along to a 136 run stand under almost no pressure
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