Web Desk (LTN NEWS): In front of 90,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82 helped India beat Pakistan in a shocking last-ball win that boosted their chances of winning the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2007.
India, held their fierce rivals to 159-8 and won by four wickets in an amazing last over. Superstar Kohli was the hero of the match. India looked like they were in much trouble when they were only 45-4 after 10 overs, which was halfway through their chase.
However, Kohli and Hardik Pandya (40) started an impressive comeback with a 100-run partnership. This meant that India only needed 16 runs from Mohammad Nawaz’s last over, which he filled with wides and no-balls to help them reach their goal.
“I don’t know what to say, and I don’t know how that happened,” Kohli said.
“I do not know what to say. Hardik thought we could do it if we stuck with it until the end.
Since the late 1990s, India has beaten chiefly Pakistan, but they had lost two of their three previous matches, including by 10 wickets in the group stage of last year’s T20 World Cup and by the same amount in the recent Asia Cup.
Read T20 World Cup: Pakistan’s team schedule for ICC tournament
However, India had been in good shape recently, winning the home series against Australia and South Africa thanks to the success of their batting line-up.
“Kohli and Pandya are both seasoned pros. It was very important to stay calm and play the game to the end. It’s good for our confidence,” said Rohit Sharma, the captain of India.
The captain of Pakistan, Babar Azam, was also sad when he spoke about Kohli. “Our bowlers did a great job. We had a chance, so we tried to do what we had planned. But Virat Kohli should get credit.”
India-Pakistan is one of the most heated rivalries in sports, and the atmosphere was electric when Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, was out lbw for a golden duck to Arshdeep Singh. This was a bad start for Pakistan, and India won the match.
Singh’s swing caused more damage in his next over when Mohammad Rizwan (4) top-edged a rising ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at fine leg. Babar tried to review, but it was right in front.
Shan Masood was almost called out for being run out while he and Iftikhar Ahmed worked to get the innings back on track. At the halfway point, they were 60-2, but Ahmed sped up when the slow bowlers came on. He hit Ravi Ashwin for six, then he hit Axar Patel for three more runs in one over.
Ahmed got to 50 before Mohammed Shami caught him lbw. This caused a collapse, and in the subsequent 19 runs, Pandya caught Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz.
India also got off to a terrible start. Naseem Shah bowled KL Rahul in the first over when he pulled the ball onto his stumps. Then, Ahmed took a great catch at slip to get rid of skipper Sharma (4) after Haris Rauf bowled him.
This brought Suryakumar Yadav, arguably the best T20 batsman in the world, to the crease. He was caught behind after only eight balls by Rauf for a fast 16 as the Pakistan fans cheered.
India was in trouble at 31-4 when Patel was run out in the next over. Kohli got off to a slow start but eventually found his groove. He and Pandya then started a comeback, and Nawaz was hit for three sixes in one over.
They still needed to score 60 runs, and five overs were left. With eight balls left and 28 runs needed, Kohli hit two sixes off Haris Rauf, leaving 16 runs to score in the last over. In the final over, which was very exciting, Kohli hit another six off a no-ball, then ran three byes after being bowled off the next free hit and seeing the ball go to the third man.
Read T20 World Cup: Shaheen’s bowling crushed an Afghan’s toe
Due to the chaos, two runs had to be scored on two balls. Dinesh Karthik then got out of his ground and stumped down the leg. Another leg-side ball was left alone by Ashwin, the new batter so that it would be called a wide. With one ball left and the score tied, Ashwin calmly lofted the winning run over the offside, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
‘No-Ball’ decision took Twitter on fire
Virat Kohli hit a full toss over mid-wicket for a six in the 20th over. The umpires called a “no ball,” which made the Pakistan players angry because India only needed 6 runs from 3 balls. Even though Babar Azam argued, the umpires did not change their minds.
