Virat Kohli smashed a stunning half-century to lift India to a four-wicket win on the final ball against arch-rivals Pakistan in a classic T20 World Cup match on Sunday that unfolded in front of a massive Melbourne Cricket Ground crowd.
However, things didn’t look easy from the start.
Winning the toss, India put Pakistan in to bat first. Fiery and top bowling spells by Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh helped India restrict arch-rival Pakistan to 159/8 in the high-voltage clash of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
But, when the Men in Blue came to bat things looked a little loose initially.
With few early wickets, India was at 31/4 at one point.
But Kohli finally found his groove and with Hardik Pandya started launching a fightback, hitting three sixes in one over off Nawaz. They still needed 60 runs with five overs remaining. With 28 needed off eight balls Kohli smashed two sixes off Haris Rauf to leave 16 from the final over.
With two runs needed Dinesh Karthik was stumped down the leg side. Ashwin finished the match with a single, helping India clinch a four-wicket win. India finished at 160/6, with Kohli scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, with six fours and four sixes and Ashwin unbeaten at 1.
Victory was critical in a group that also includes South Africa, Bangladesh and qualifiers Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, with only the top two making the semi-finals. With this win, India is at top of Group 2 with two points.
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