Early jolts for India as Kohli, Sharma fall in rain-hit T20 match against Pakistan

India faced early setbacks after losing star batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma within the first three overs in a high-stakes T20 World Cup against Pakistan. The match, already impacted by weather interruptions, saw India struggling at 19/2 after quick wickets by Pakistan's Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.

The match, held on a rain-interrupted Sunday, began with a 36-minute delay due to showers, which also pushed the toss-time and start by half an hour. Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first in front of a packed crowd of 34,000 enthusiastic spectators.

The match kicked off on a high note for India as captain Rohit Sharma smashed Shaheen Afridi’s third delivery over mid-wicket for six, raising a massive cheer from the stands. Rohit and Virat Kohli, opening the innings, managed to score eight runs off the first over before rain stopped play again.

Once play resumed at midday without any reduction in overs, Pakistan's bowlers quickly took control. Afridi and Shah struck early blows, sending both Kohli and Sharma back to the pavilion, leaving India at 19/2.

India promoted Axar Patel to No. 4 to join Rishabh Pant at the crease, aiming to stabilize the innings after the early setbacks.

India entered the tournament as pre-tournament favorites, having won their opening game against Ireland. In contrast, Pakistan was looking to recover from a surprising defeat by co-hosts USA in their first match.

As the weather forecast for the rest of the day appeared favorable, both teams and the spectators hoped for uninterrupted play, with India striving to recover from their early losses and Pakistan aiming to capitalize on their strong start.