New Delhi: Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls while Hardik Pandya flourished with both bat and ball as India successfully chased down 160 to beat Pakistan by 4 wickets in the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
On Sunday, Kohli’s sensational innings helped India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
It was an absolute thriller as India needed 16 off the last 6 balls and it all came down to 2 off 1 ball. Off the last ball, R Ashwin lofted Nawaz off the in-field to secure victory for India.
Though India made a poor start to their chase of 161 as KL Rahul dragged one on from Naseem Shah to fall for 4 off 8 balls while Rohit Sharma fell to Haris Rauf after Iftikhar Ahmed took a stunning catch at slip.
India slumped to 31 for 3 after Suryakumar Yadav became Rauf’s second victim. It was a blow because Suryakumar was looking dangerous with two sweetly timed boundaries.
Axar Patel was promoted in the batting order at No 5 but he did not last long and got run out after scoring 2 runs.
With the ball too, he failed to make any impact as he conceding 21 runs off the only over he bowled.
Virat Kohli was joined by Hardik Pandya and they made a hundred runs partnership bring India on the brink of victory.
With the required rate climbing sharply, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya cut loose. Hardik struck two sixes and Kohli one off Nawaz’s third over. Shaheen Shah Afridi was brought back for his second spell as Babar Azam sensed an Indian fightback, but Kohli was all set to create a sensational victory for the team.
Virat Kohli suddenly changed gears and raced away to his 34th T20I fifty. India needed 31 off the last two overs and Haris Rauf was given the responsibility of bowling the penultimate over. Kohli smashed two sixes in the 19th over as India brought the equation down to 16 off the last over.
Hardik Pandya fell for 40 to Nawaz and despite some drama, India buried the ghosts of Dubai to get off to a winning start.
Earleir India’s pacers breathed fire after Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl. Arshdeep Singh was exceptional with the new ball, removing Babar Azam for a golden duck before ending Mohammad Rizwan’s nightmarish innings.
However, Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed paved Pakistan’s road to recovery with a 76-run partnership for the 3rd wicket.
Hardik Pandya also struck some crucial blows to stop Pakistan from flying away to a bigger total. He dismissed Shadab Khan and Haider Ali in the 14th over of the Pakistani innings and then removed Mohammad Nawaz to finish with figures of 3 for 30 off 4 overs.
Arshdeep Singh got his third wicket of the match when he sent back Asif Ali, but Shaheeh Shah Afridi smashed a four and a six to propel Pakistan to 159 for 8 off 20 overs.