Virat Kohli’s India endured a tough start to their T20 World Cup campaign as they suffered a heavy 10-wicket drubbing against Pakistan in their first match in Dubai on Sunday. 

While Kohli did come to the team’s rescue with the bat, scoring 57 off 49 balls, he failed to keep India’s perfect record against Pakistan intact in the showpiece event. Before the start of the contest, India had maintained an unbeaten run against neighbours Pakistan at World Cups, both T20s and ODIs. 

After being invited to bat first, Shaheen Afridi welcomed India with some breath-taking pace as he dismissed in-form batters Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul inside the powerplay overs. Kohli then showed some resistance in the middle as India managed to post a respectable 151/7 on the board after 20 overs. 

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In response, Pakistan opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played some fantastic shots and helped their side close the contest with more than two overs to spare. Sharing insights on what went wrong for the Men In Blue, skipper Kohli remarked that Pakistan’s execution on the field as the main difference between the two sides. 

“We didn’t execute properly. Credit where it’s due and Pakistan outplayed us today. They started brilliantly with the ball, and 3 wickets for 20 runs was not a good start. We needed wickets early but with the bat, they gave us absolutely no chances.,” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports after the game ended.

“It played slow in the first half and hitting through the line was not that easy as it was in the second half, after 10 overs. We needed those 15-20 extra runs and for that, we needed a good start but Pakistan’s bowling didn’t allow us to get those extra runs,” he added.

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Kohli also dismissed the idea of fielding an extra slow bowler, stating the move would have been ineffective due to the dew factor. “We could make the argument of getting in another slower bowler, but it’s important to stay composed and understand our strengths, because with the dew the slower bowlers couldn’t be effective either. This is just the first game of the tournament, not the last,” said Kohli.

This was the first time that India lost a T20I by ten wickets. Coincidentally, this was also the first time that Pakistan won a T20I by ten wickets. India will next square off against New Zealand October 31 (Sunday) while Pakistan will take on the same opponent on October 26 (Tuesday).