India's Virat Kohli shakes hands with Pakistan's Mohammad Wasim following the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022 Highlights: Virat Kohli single-handedly powered India to an epic four-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan with a magnificent 53-ball 82 not out in their big-ticket T20 World Cup game here on Sunday. Pakistan recovered from a wobbly start to post a fighting 159 for eight. India completed the chase in the last ball, with Kohli and Hardik Pandya (40) doing the bulk of the scoring after a horror start to their innings.
The two revived India with a 113-run stand for the fourth wicket after they were reeling at 31/4 at one stage. Sent in to bat, Pakistan were well served by Iftikhar Ahmed’s 34-ball 51 and Shan Masood’s unbeaten 52 off 42 balls after they lost their first two wickets with just 15 runs on the board in the fourth over.
Follow IND vs PAK highlights from Melbourne below
India
160/6 (20.0)Pakistan
159/8 (20.0)India beat Pakistan by 4 wickets
Shaheen Shah Afridi in T20 World Cup 2021. (AP)
I just hit the two sixes instinctively, says Virat Kohli after unbeaten 82 against Pakistan.
The former India captain's heroics against Pakistan got him the player of the match award. To read more, click here.
How Kohli stuck to the plan, let Pandya do the hitting and on the home stretch ran like a champion.
Read more: Chase thriller written and directed by Virat Kohli
IND vs PAK T20 World Cup report card: Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya inspire India to famous win at MCG
Read here!
Rohit Sharma: "I was in the dressing room. I don't have any words left. You got to expect something like this in a game like this. We wanted to stay in the game for as long as possible. That crucial partnership was the game changing moment for us. Those two guys are experienced. Staying calm and taking the game deep was very critical. Good for our confidence. Always crucial to get off the mark like this. We were in no position to win this. It has to be Virat's best knock playing for India."
Babar Azam: "Our bowlers bowled really well. All credit to Kohli and Pandya. It wasn't easy with the new ball. We had partnerships after 10 overs. We had a chance. We tried to stick to our plans. But credit to Virat Kohli. In the middle we decided we wanted a wicket and held the spinner back."
Virat Kohli: "Till today I've said Mohali was my best T20 innings. That was 82 off 51, this is 82 off 53. But I'll count this one above just because of the magnitude of the game."
When have we seen Virat Kohli this emotional on the field? That win meant a lot for him.
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Ashwin goes over mid off. India win by four wickets.
Two needed off two deliveries and Nawaz bowls one down the leg watching Karthik come down, Rizwan stumps the India batter. Two needed off the last ball now.
No ball and a six. Wide follows. The ball hits the stumps but it's still free hit so India run three.
Kohli smacks Haris Rauf for two sixes off the last two deliveries. India need 16 off the last over. This is the Virat Kohli who has ruled those 22 yards with the bat. WOW!
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Fifty for Virat Kohli and he brings it up in style with a smack on the leg side. Follows it with two more boundaries off the over.Jeez, the Kohli chants are deafening at the moment at the MCG. India need 31 off the last 12 deliveries.
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Terrific over from Haris Rauf, who still has one left after this. Just six off it. India need 54 off the final 24 deliveries.
90,293 is the official attendence for India vs Pakistan game today.
Virat Kohli brings those majestic wrists into play to pick a boundary past the deep cover. India need 70 off the last 36 deliveries with six wickets in hand.
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Nihal Koshie: KL Rahul has got himself into these stuck-in-between positions in two big games against Pakistan, at last year's T20 World Cup and on Sunday against the same opposition. And he has paid the price against two very quick bowlers who can swing the ball. Against Shaheen Shah Afridi in Dubai, Rahul tried to play the incoming ball by angling the bat into the delivery path. But it ended up going nowhere, except onto his thighs and then the stumps. Today, though he kept out Afridi, Naseem Shah got him. Rahul tried to use the open face of the bat to get the ball away but the inside edge ricocheted off his pad and crashed into the stumps. On both occasions, the Pakistani bowlers produced the good length ball and Rahul made the mistake of not playing with the full face of the bat and for not committing to a stroke.
Sriram Veera: "MCG is my home ground because I play for the Melbourne Stars, and I have an idea of how the conditions play out there. I've already started planning on how I would bowl against India," Haris Rauf had sent out a warning last month.
He walked the talk on the big day. A sharp straightener from a hard length had Rohit Sharma poking tentatively, edging to slips. Then when Suryakumar Yadav pulled him for a boundary, he didn’t take a back seat. Instead, got his radar straighter and hurled one from short of length that cut back in to the batsman. Suryakumar arched back but found the ball kept coming in towards him, and tried to ride the bounce with the wrists but couldn’t. Rauf had been punching away in delight on yet another Melbourne night. He had already smashed his first ball - leg-side full toss from Bhuvneshwar Kumar- for a massive six over midwicket and is now carrying on the demolition job with the ball.
Three years ago when Haris Rauf moved to Hobart as part of an exchange programme between Pakistan Super League’s Qalandars and the Hurricanes, the Rawalpindi-born paceman found a friend in Haryana-born Mayank Gupta.
Read more-T20 World Cup: Ambala man recalls kadha chai bonding with Hobart roommate Haris Rauf, Pakistan’s 150 kmph speedster
Axar Patel has to walk after miscommunication with Virat Kohli. India in deep trouble. 33/4 after seven overs.
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Haris Rauf picks Suryakumar Yadav. Mohammed Rizwan completes the catch behind the stumps. India finish the powerplay at 31/3.
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Since he made his international debut in March 2021, Suryakumar Yadav has barely put a foot wrong wearing India's blue. And his footings are strong as he pushes the ball down the ground for a four off his first ball. India 17/2 after four overs.
A ripper from Haris Rauf to get Rohit Sharma caught by Iftikhar Ahmed. India two down for 10.
An early cover drive pierced into the gap from Virat Kohli but no boundary. India, 10/1 after three overs.
Rahul gets an inside edge onto the stumps as Naseem Shah strikes. Not the start India would have wanted. Meanwhile, seems like a slight drizzle around the ground. Score after 2 overs, IND: 7/1
“For f***’s sake” screamed Hardik Pandya. Rohit Sharma too had an expletive escape his lips. So did many Indian players. It was a bizarre situation when the spider cam cable cut down a plausible catch chance to dismiss Shan Masood. (READ)
Sarcasm was Hardik Pandya’s predominant emotion whenever he picked a wicket on Sunday. He did not leap or dash, or punch the air or hit the turf. When he had Haider Ali miscue a short of length ball, he just stood in his follow-through and kept grinning sarcastically at the fallen batter. Then when he consumed Mohammad Nawaz with a short ball that the batter tried to ramp, he broke into a mini-jog, flapping his hands as though suggesting Masood to hurry back to the dugout, wearing a what’s-the-big-deal-about-the-wickets smile. He met Shadab Khan with a poker face before sending him off with a clap. A cricketer born for theatre, no one does sarcasm in the team as naturally as Pandya does.
- Sandip G
Shaheen Afridi with swinging full toss and Rahul checks his shot. The ball lobs almost into the hands of Afridi. Nervy moments for India at the start.
A challenging chase at hand! Rohit and Rahul in the middle. KL Rahul will take strike. Shaheen Shah Afridi with the ball. The last time India failed to successfully chase down a target under 170 in a complete 20-over T20I was against New Zealand in Nagpur in WT20 2016. HERE WE GO!
Like the famous Kohli-cam, we might need one for Rohit Sharma. He is turning out to be one of the more expressive captains in world cricket. In the past, he has kissed his team-mates on the foreheads, mock-strangled them in jest, apart from the usual winces, roars, and screams.
Today, he smiled a lot. Winced as much. And also once punched himself. Yes him self. When a ball sneaked off the outer edge between a wide slip and the ‘keeper to the third man boundary, he extended his left arm out and punched it hard with his right. Masochism has rarely looked this funny. Not just humans or limbs that caught his ire, he also screamed at the spider cam.
- Sriram Veera
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets Shaheen Afridi (16 off eight). Haris Rauf comes in and dispatches a six off his first ball. Pakistan finish at 159/8. 99 runs off the last 10 overs after being two down for 60 in the first. That's a good finish from the men in green.
Sriram Veera: That looked bad Live. It would have looked worse on the big screen when Asif Ali walked back, one eye on the replay. It was a bouncer from Arshdeep, who like Bhuvaneshwar is proving to be an expert with the surprise weapon, that didn’t quite climb head-high.
So what did Asif do? He took his eyes off, ducked right into the bouncer to make it head high. He put up his bat as a face shield and it popped up behind the stumps where Dinesh Karthik pouched it. DK who once used to be so restless and so expressive, has turned into a MS Dhoni-like character almost. No expression on his face as he walked towards his team-mates.
Sriram Veera: 'For f***’s sake” screamed Hardik Pandya. Rohit Sharma too had an expletive escape his lips. So did many Indian players. It was a bizarre situation when the spider cam cable cut down a plausible catch chance to dismiss Shan Masood. He was beaten in the air by Ashwin as he went for a big hit, and the ball swirled off the edge over covers. Kohli ran in from the deep but had to stop as the ball clanged on the cable and dropped down straight.
The umpire would signal a dead ball but Pandya and Rohit had more serious concerns about a wasted chance of a dismissal. Rohit shook his hands furiously to suggest the spider cam be moved further away. So did Pandya. And so did the umpire. Masood was on 31 then and it was the 15th over. Let’s see how many more he gets.
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Arshdeep surprises Asif Ali with a hostile and effective bouncer. Karthik takes the catch behind. Pakistan seven down for 125 after 17 overs.
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Sriram Veera: "He is 29? Really?!" Waqar Younis had once said on a television discussion much to the merriment of Wasim Akram and Misbah-ul-Haq. Another co-panellist Wahab Riaz couldn’t control his laughter. It was last year’s discussion on A Sports when Waqar addressed a fan question about whether Iftikhar Ahmed can replace Shoaib Malik in the middle order. “He is the same age as Shoaib Malik, if I am not wrong,” Waqar started when Riaz began laughing. The host said ’29’. That’s when Waqar went for his “really?” Comment. He is 32 years old as of today, according to available records. Malik is 40. In a Melbourne moment, he had changed the complexion of the game with four monstrous hits. First he charged Ashwin to dispatch a carrom-ball over long-on and even as the Aussie commentator was saying how it’s wise to go straight at MCG as the straighter boundaries are relatively smaller, he slog-swept Axar over midwicket. Then went down on his knee to crash-land a six over long-off before another one was thrown back from the long-on stands. Age doesn’t matter; his hits do.
Sandeep Dwivedi: Iftikhar Ahmed has a couple of nicknames, none of them complimentary. They call him Chacha, the reason being his age is often written in inverted commas. Records say he is 32, but there are also some alternate truths. His extended stay in the team, despite his form slump, gave him another name, or rather a taunt. Along with the other middle-order batter Khushdil Shah, he was referred to as 'parchi'. On the Pakistan cricket circuit, or in general around the country, parchi means a chit of paper used to recommend someone who doesn't deserve it. It means the player is in the team with no merit. In the recent past, Abdul Qadir’s son Usman was called parchi player by the fans, prompting Wasim Akram to speak out in his defence. But after Iftikhar's spectacular 51, where he hit 1 six off Ashwin and 3 off Axar, Pakistan needs to find a name that is worthy of his talent. Sixer Chacha - wouldn't be bad.
Pakistan six down as Hardik Pandya sends back Mohammed Nawaz. Third wicket for the all-rounder tonight. Typical big match outing so far from India's ace card going into the World Cup. Pakistan, 116/6 after 16 overs.
Australia stationed their staff members over the boundaries at SCG. Ashton Agar said in Powerplay the ball flies around it the time gets lost whenever a player has to fetch the ball.
Read more-IND vs PAK: India deploy support staff and extra players across boundary to save time
The Hardik Pandya-Suryakumar Yadav combination once again in the 14th over. Haider Ali walks back as Pakistan go five down. 99/5 after 14 overs.
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Mihir Vasavda: Iftikhar Ahmed had to wait for 24 balls, but after patiently negotiating the challenging batting conditions, the Pakistan batsman cleared the straight boundary four times in quick succession - thrice in an over. Ahmed, who has a big-hitting reputation, had fore-warned opponents for which he was even pulled up publicly by Wasim Akram. With Pakistan's middle-order coming under scrutiny whenever the openers are dismissed cheaply, Ahmed not only dismissed those concerns but also claimed 'hitting sixes in big Australian grounds is not a problem.'
Ahmed's confidence stems from his past record in Australia, where he has scored 108 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of close to 150 before Sunday's match against India. Yet, his statement earned him a stern warning from Akram.
"Whatever he scored, that was 3-4 years ago... he was named the Player of the Match and Player of the Series in Australia, that was four years ago, man. This is a different ball game, a World Cup. You won't be up against one team but a lot of them," Akram was quoted as saying by A Sports. So far till the four 6s sailed, he' had proven Akram wrong.
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Sandeep Dwivedi: Where was Shan Masood when Pakistan was playing India in the Asia Cup? He was on the English county circuit, scoring runs that would fill a goods train. Turning up for Derbyshire, Masood had 1000-plus runs when wearing whites. And when the ball turned white and clothes got colours, he made 547 T20 runs and 145 in 3 one-dayers. A batter in the classical mould, he had caught the eye of Mickey Arthur when he was the Pakistan coach. And when the South African got signed to coach Derbyshire, he insisted on Masood.
The Pakistan frontline batter delivered. Such was his form that he got Masood to lead his county. Those days in England, dealing with swing, came in handy at MCG. The Indian pacers were making the ball talk but Masood knew the routine. He kept the bat close to the bat, playing late and bidding his time. He was also lucky.
Shami gets Iftikhar wrapped around the pads in his third over. Big wicket for India. Pakistan three down for 96 after 13 overs.
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50 partnership up between Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood with the former's maximum off Ravichandran Ashwin. 10 off the over, 70/2 after 11.
Run off every ball in that Hardik Pandya over including a boundary. End of the 10th over and Pakistan are 60/2 halfway through their innings.