Pakistan started securely after losing the toss and being sent into bat in the much-awaited India-Pakistan game of the 2023 World Cup. Abdullah Shafique looked solid, continuing his good form from the last game against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad, while Imam-ul-Haq looked like he finally found his rhythm.

However, both openers were removed before they were able to register big scores. Shafique was caught plumb in front by Mohammed Siraj in the eighth over of the innings, while Pandya removed Imam in the 13th over immediately after having been hit for a boundary.

Pandya, whose natural length is a back of length, was cut for four by Imam on the second ball of the 13th over. He corrected his length on the next ball, pitching it fuller and angled across the left-hander.

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Imam came forward to drive it through the off-side, but was only able to get an outside edge behind to KL Rahul, who pouched the catch safely. As Imam walked back, Hardik gave him an animated send-off, waving goodbye and mouthing what looked like “Thank you so much”.

While India-Pakistan matches have been played in a friendly manner on the field over the last few years, this is not the first send-off that has been seen in these games recently. Last month, Haris Rauf aggressively sent off Ishan Kishan in the Asia Cup match that was washed out.

Imam’s wicket today was the second of the Pakistan innings, following which their score read 73-2. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan then stitched an 82-run third-wicket partnership to take them to 155-3.

Watch Hardik Pandya sends off Imam-ul-Haq with a goodbye:

 

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