Melbourne: Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya’s partnership powered India to victory against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
Chasing the target of 160, India suffered an early setback as they lost four wickets. But when Kohli and Pandya stepped in, they helped the team bounce back and put pressure on the bowlers.
Before Pandya (40) was dismissed, he and Kohli (82) put on a 78-ball 113-run partnership.
Although they dominated the match together, India suffered a setback after Pandey’s dismissal and the match entered a nerve-wracking phase in the final over.
India needed 16 runs in the last over when Mohammad Nawaz bowled Pandya. Initially, it looked like Pakistan were on top, but Nawaz’s nine-ball and Kohli’s six set the stage for India — and even though Dinesh Karthik was sent back to the pavilion, it proved the Men in Blue’s determination to win. Not impressed.
At the end of 20 overs, India scored 160 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Kohli was awarded the man of the match award.
For Pakistan Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets each while Naseem Shah managed to get one wicket.
Earlier, Shan Masood (52) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51) helped Pakistan reach 159 runs against India.
India took control of the match early by stopping the man-in-green from scoring and dismissing the dangerous Pakistani opening pair in less than five overs.
India win the match in a last-ball finish 🏏
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 23, 2022
Good fight shown by the boys 👍#WeHaveWeWill | #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/aVKsd8dM8Z
Arsdeep Singh bowled Babar (0) lbw full, straight and pin on his first ball of the second over. In the fourth over, Singh – who had not done well against Pakistan in the Asia Cup – took the wicket of Rizwan (4).
But then came Masood and Ahmed who steadied the innings at a time when the man-in-green duo had been dismissed, which they had relied on. The batsmen put on a partnership of 76 runs before Ahmed was dismissed.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, who managed to add 16 runs to Pakistan’s total at a strike rate of 200, also played a crucial innings as his sharp boundaries in the death overs put India under pressure.
For India, Arsdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took three wickets each while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami took one wicket each.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.
