T20 World Cup 2022: India beat Pakistan by 4 wickets in last-ball thriller
It wasn’t the first time – and probably not the last – that former skipper Virat Kohli turned back the clock with a brilliant individual knock of 82 off just 53 deliveries to rescue India.
Kohli got to the crease in the second over when KL Rahul (4) dismissed Naseem Shah (1/23) and it looked forlorn for India when a fuming Haris Rauf (2/36) reduced them to 31/3 after the batting Powerplay.
But Kohli kept his nerve and, as he had done so many times before, expertly guided India home in front of a crowd in excess of 90,000 at the MCG in Melbourne.
The final over thriller had the crowd on the edge of their seats
India never looked like winning, but with Kohli and Hardik Pandya at the crease, there was always an outside chance that they could pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Needing 31 from the last two overs, Kohli hit Rauf with two massive sixes in the last two deliveries of the penultimate over to make the equation 16 off the last six balls.
Yet there was more drama.
Pandya fell on the first delivery of the final over before Kohli put Mohammad Nawaz into the stands from a full toss to the waist to require six runs from the last three deliveries to claim an unlikely victory.
Kohli was dropped on the ensuing delivery, but with it being a free hit, India shuffled three byes to leave them in the box seat needing just two from the last two balls.
Karthik was caught off the penultimate delivery to give Pakistan hope, but Ravi Ashwin came to the crease to score the winning run off the last ball of the match to seal a thriller for India.
Brains and brawn: A soul-crushing finale in India’s victory over Pakistan
The unstoppable Virat Kohli crossed the line and took a contested free hit
Lack of bowling options is costly for Pakistan
The lack of a decent fourth seamer proved costly for Pakistan, with India targeting Nawaz during his spell while keeping their pacers at bay.
It was Shaheen Afridi who did the damage with the ball last year in Dubai, but this time it was his colleagues as Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah tore apart India’s top order.
Pakistan’s pace trio pounced on sheer speed to reduce India to just 31/3 from their batting powerhouse and there was more carnage on the first ball of the seventh over when Axar Patel – promoted to No.5 in the batting line-up – ran. tried to escape which was not there.
But Kohli and Pandya timed their run perfectly to guide Rohit Sharma home in a thrilling encounter in Melbourne.
“I’m really speechless” – Virat Kohli after his match-winning knock against Pakistan
Virat Kohli celebrates victory Virat Kohli celebrates victory
The star duo failed as Iftikhar Ahmed picked up the slack
While India had similar success during Pakistan’s power-play, they could not immediately build on their success by removing Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan cheaply.
Arshdeep Singh (3/32) took the crucial wickets of Babar for a golden duck and Rizwan for just four, only to watch Iftikhar (51 off 34 deliveries) and Shan Masood (52* off 42 balls) revive Pakistan’s innings with smart batting. this was combined with some big banging.
Iftikhar took a particular liking to Axar Patel’s spin as he launched the Indian all-rounder for three massive sixes and 21 from his only over to help Pakistan win a competitive total.
A more composed Masood brought up his third T20I half-century in Pakistan’s penultimate innings, with Afridi unleashing some rare big hits late on.
Where to Pakistan and India now?
Pakistan have three days off before their next encounter and will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Zimbabwe in Perth on Thursday.
However, it will not be an easy task as David Houghton’s side showed plenty of positives with both bat and ball as they won their first round two matches against Ireland and Scotland.
India’s next game is against the Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday.
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravi Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup Super 12 Group 2 Highlights: Virat Kohli played one of the most memorable innings in T20 World Cup history as he played an unbeaten knock of 82 as India beat Pakistan by four wickets in a last-ball thriller at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . India were in trouble while chasing 160 but Kohli first played the role of anchor and then took the mantle of hitting the big ones and in the end it was his class that helped India triumph over Pakistan. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took three wickets each as India restricted Pakistan to 159/8 in 20 overs.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
