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T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli excels as India defeats Pakistan in a last-over nail biter

Virat Kohli’s dazzling half-century led India to a stunning four-wicket victory against historic rivals Pakistan in front of almost 90,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in an exciting T20 World Cup battle.

India had been thrashed by Pakistan by a 10-wicket margin in last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, but they won Sunday’s match off the final ball, reaching their goal of 160 after a dramatic finish. Kohli (82* off 53 balls) and Hardik Pandya (40 off 37 balls) shared a century partnership to resurrect India from 31-4, with Kohli’s late boundary burst reducing the need from 48 with 18 balls remaining to 16 off the last over delivered by spinner Mohammad Nawaz.

Hardik succumbed to the following delivery, and a barely imaginable ending began with Kohli striking six off a no-ball as a requirement of 13 from three balls became six from three.

Nawaz bowled Kohli off the free shot and the ball drifted down to deep third for three byes.

With two runs necessary, Dinesh Karthik was stumped in the penultimate ball, but Nawaz then put down a second wide of the over before Ravichandran Ashwin clipped the final ball beyond mid-off with one required.

The official match-winner was Ashwin, but Kohli was India’s superhero, saving his team after they lost four wickets in 6.1 overs and then catching up with the sixes and fours needed when the game looked to be out of reach.

Harsha Bhogle, a guy who has seen more cricket than anybody, claimed he thought he saw a tear slide down Kohli’s cheeks as the champion batsman struck the ground with his fist. “A famous victory for India. If you look at all of the big wins over the years, I believe you’ll find very few that compare to this one. This game was lost until Virat Kohli reclaimed it. What a champion, what an incredible champion,” Bhogle said. “I’m sure this is devastating for Pakistan. I believe I see a tear in Virat Kohli’s eyes. I’ve seen Virat Kohli play for many years, and I’ve seen some of his finest innings, but I’ve never seen a tear in his eye, and I believe I saw one,” he added.

Earlier, Pakistan recovered well from an almost horrific start that saw both of their famous openers succumb early. Half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood aided the Green Shirts’ 159-8 score.

Indian seamers found plenty of lift and movement after allowing Pakistan to bat first, exactly as they did in their first match during the recent Asia Cup.

Babar Azam was out on a golden duck, and Mohammad Rizwan quickly followed him back into the pavilion. Shan Masood was the foundation and stayed to the finish, but the true standout was the much-maligned Iftikhar Ahmed, whose 34-ball 51 threatened to loosen India’s grip on the innings at one stage.

However, as he fell, the wicket breach began, with no one staying with Masood long enough. The one-down lefty scored 52 runs on 42 balls. Shaheen Afridi’s 16-run cameo at the end proved crucial in improving the total.

Pandya was the highlight of the Indian bowlers, with three for 30, followed by left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who finished with a score of 3/32.

With this innings, Kohli has surpassed Rohit Sharma as the leading T20 run-scorer. The innings comes months after worries about his form were raised, with commentators speculating about his future in the starting XI.

Kohli’s performance also represents a continuation of his strong streak versus Pakistan, where he has an average of 308 runs.

This victory propels India to the top of Group B of the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup. In the round’s remaining matches, the team will face Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Rohit Sharma Indian Captian: “I have no voice left. We were always wanting to make sure we stayed in the game as long as possible. We’ve been talking constantly about it. No matter what the situation, you’ve got to believe you can pull through, and that partnership changed the game for us. There was good carry, good swing as well, and we utilised that well up front. That was good to see from the bowling perspective. They batted well in the middle. We knew it would not be an easy target on that pitch. We knew we would have to bat out of our skins. Virat and Hardik are experienced guys. Staying calm and taking it as deep as possible was critical, and they did that. It’s good for our confidence to get off the mark in our first game, and the way we won is more pleasing for us, the way we came back. Hats off to Virat. It has to go off as not one of his best, but the best innings he has played for India. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us, and I will expect nothing less wherever we travel in Australia.”

Virat Kohli the Player of the Match. “Well, it’s a surreal atmosphere. I honestly have no words. I have no idea how that happened. Hardik kept telling me, just believe we can stay till the end. I’m lost for words. Well, I think when Shaheen bowled from the Pavilion end, I told Hardik we have to take him down. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. It came down to 16 off 6. I’m kind of lost for words. It’s just instinctively I saw it, told myself to stay still. The one at long-on was unexpected, it was a back-of-a-length slower ball. The fine leg one, I just threw my bat at it. Till today I said Mohali was my best T20 innings. Then I got 82 off 52, today I got 82 off 53. Both are just as special. All these months when I was struggling, you guys the crowd kept me going. Thank you so much.”

Babar Azam Pakistani Captain: “A tight game. We started well in our bowling, and then all credit to Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. They shifted the momentum and finished the game well. It’s not easy with the new ball, with a little bit of swing and seam. We had a chance, and we just asked the boys to believe in themselves, but again credit to Virat Kohli. We needed a wicket, that’s why we utilised our main bowlers and kept Nawaz for the end. A lot of positives. The way Iftikhar played, the way Shan played and finished the innings was good for us.”

India 160/6 (Kohli 82*, Hardik 40) beat Pakistan 159/8 (Masood 52*, Iftikhar 51, Arshdeep 3-32, Hardik 3-30) by four wickets

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