WATCH: Viral Kohli gifts signed jersey to Babar Azam

AHMEDABAD: India batting star Virat Kohli shared a heartfelt moment with Pakistan captain Babar Azam after the World Cup 2023 clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rohit Sharma’s quickfire 86 after a combined effort from the bowlers led India to a dominant seven-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the high-octane ICC World Cup 2023 clash on Saturday.

Jasprit Bumrah, Muhammad Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav rattled Pakistan’s batting line-up restricting them to 191 as Pakistan could only play 42.5 overs.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma made a brilliant 86 to help India chase down the total in 30.3 overs. Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi took two wickets while Hasan Ali dismissed Virat Kohli.

Following the clash, Virat Kohli gifted his signed jersey to Babar Azam – a video of which is going viral on social media. While Indian the players were busy celebrating the win, Kohli was seen having a chat with Babar.

Kohli gifted a signed jersey to Babar.pic.twitter.com/Jsy9eIZ37P

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) October 14, 2023

After the match, Babar admitted that Pakistan lost the match due to the batting collapse that they suffered.

“We started well, a good partnership. We just planned to play normal cricket and build partnerships. Suddenly, there was a collapse and we could not finish well. Not good for us, the way we started, our target was 280-290 but the collapse cost us. The total was not good. We are not up to the mark with the new ball,” Babar was quoted as saying.

Babar Azam also lauded Rohit Sharma for playing a match-winning knock. “The way Rohit played was an outstanding innings. We just tried to take wickets, but that didn’t happen,” he added.

It must be noted India jumped to the first position of the ICC World Cup 2023 points table. With three wins in three matches, the home side continued their excellent form and maintained a positive 1.821 net run rate (NRR).

Meanwhile, Pakistan are at fourth with an NRR of -0.137. They will now play Australia on October 20.