Melbourne: As India was celebrating Diwali by bursting firecrackers on Sunday, Virat Kohli was doing that at Melbourne cricket ground with his bat against Pakistani bowlers, leading India to a four-wicket victory against their arch rival in a cliff-hanger T20 World Cup match.
It was an epic four-wicket against Pakistan before 90,000 spectators. King Kohli, as his fans call him, remained unbeaten. India had to chase 160 which looked difficult after India could score only 31 losing four wickets. Then, Hardik Pandya struck 40 off 37 balls in a partnership of 113.
Because of a prolonged lean patch, Koli’s ability to win matches for India came under scanner, but he was on song on Sunday and replied to his critics with his bat that he is still a force to reckon with. It all began in the 19th over when he pulled off two back-to-back sixes. Rauf was bowling well but two loose deliveries changed the game. With 14 needed off three balls, Nawaz’s juicy full-toss was sent for a six over square leg and it was called a no-ball after deliberation by on-field umpires. By the time it happened, Nawaz, the hero of Pakistan’s Super 4 win in the Asia Cup began to feel edgy. Meanwhile, Mohammed Rizwan stumped Karthik. Nawaz bowled a wide and Ravidhandran Ashwin scored the most important boundary of his career. Immediately after the big hit by Ashwin, the entire ground reverberated with “Chak De India” which never sounded as sweet as it did on Sunday. Kohli stood still. He punched the ground, took a long walk back, and showed victory signs to the crowd. India restored its supremacy at a global event.
Nevertheless, the script could have gone haywire. KL Rahul’s struggles against extreme pace and his distinct lack of footwork, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav getting out early broke the rhythm that Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh scripted by restricting Pakistan to 159 for 8.
Just as India began to bat, they lost four wickets for only 31 runs. The responsibility of Kohli and Pandya increased manifold because they had to stick to the wicket and score runs. Both of them understood the basics of chasing runs in T20 cricket and how to maintain the pace of an innings. This is what they had learnt from peerless MS Dhoni. When leg-spinner Shadab Khan plunged into action, Pandya chanced his arm and sent him soaring into the stands. Nawaz got the same treatment from Kohli as he received from Pandya who got his second six, but Rauf and Naseem gave only six runs each in the 16th and 17th over.
Arshdeep got three wickets by giving only 32 runs. He removed skipper Babar Azam for duck and Rozwan for four in his first two spells and set the tone for the rest of the match. Pandya, too, got three wickets for just 30. Nevertheless, Ashwin and Axar Patel (1/21) had to struggle a bit. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (1/22) and Asrhdeep knew that all they needed to do was to pitch up and let the track do the rest. They bowled at an average speed of 130 kmph.
The only Pakistan batter who looked comfortable against the Indian bowlers was Iftikhar Ahmed who scored 51. Although Shan Masood scored 52, he never looked comfortable against the Indian attack in his 52-ball knock. Exactly 364 days back, Babar and Rizwan clinically decimated the Indian bowling attack and scored their biggest- ever T20 victory against India.
Arshdeep delivered a perfect inswinger and got the wicket of Babar. There was no controversy over the LBW decision. Rizwan who scored four gave an easy catch to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the boundary. It was a fine short ball from Arshdeep. At the start of the back-10, Iftikhar in a space of five balls, hit four sixes and Shami (1/25), coming back for his second spell, trapped him at the third-wicket stand. After Iftikhar was out, Masood failed to force the pace. Pandya dismissed Shadab Khan, Haider Ali and Mohammed Nawaz in quick succession that broke the batting line of Pakistan. Although Shaheen Shah Afridi’s blows took Pakistan past 15 runs, they could not save the day.
