Super 12 Group 2: Virat Kohli’s special takes India to famous win

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 It was a memorable match as the Indian team started the World Cup tournament with a famous win over arch-rivals Pakistan played in front of a capacity crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground, MCG on Sunday.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced some lovely deliveries to start with against Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Arshdeep Singh then got rid of Babar Azam for a golden duck to provide an early breakthrough. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled with great control on the pitch with swing and movement.

Shan Masood looked in decent touch putting the bad deliveries away for runs. Arshdeep Singh rattled the Pakistan batting getting Rizwan caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at fine leg. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood steadied the ship as they ended the first six overs at 32 for 2.

After the field restrictions, Iftikhar Ahmed and Masood showed intent putting pressure on Indian bowling. Ravichandran Ashwin took a stunning catch but decision was overturned as the ball touched the ground. After the break, Iftikhar Ahmed put enough pressure on Indian spinners taking on them with sixes to bring back Pakistan into the match. Ifkthitar completed fifty off 32 balls.

Mohammed Shami did the job for Rohit Sharma getting rid of well-set Iftikhar Ahmed. Ifkthitar and Shan Masood added 76 runs for the 3rd wicket. Hardik Pandya struck twice in succession getting rid of Shahbad Khan and Haider Ali caught by Surya Kumar Yadav to leave Pakistan struggling.

Mohammad Nawaz looked steady with some attacking shots before Hardik Pandya dismissed him with a lovely short ball. Arshdeep Singh rattle Asif Ali to leave Pakistan in big trouble. Shaheen Shah Afridi provided some impetus with big hits against Arshdeep Singh. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Shaheen Shah Afridi with a simple return catch. Shaheen Shah and Shan Masood added 31 runs for the 8th wicket.

Shan Masood completed fifty off 40 balls and led Pakistan's fightback. At the end of 20 overs, Pakistan recovered to 159 for 8 in 20 overs.

Chasing 160 runs to win, it was not an ideal start for the Indian team as KL Rahul went cheaply chopping onto the stumps. Haris Rauf produced another superb delivery to dismiss Rohit Sharma with a stunning catch by Iftikhar Ahmed to leave India struggling. Surya Kumar Yadav showed intent hitting some lovely shots before Rauf bowled a stunning delivery. At the end of the first six overs, India looked in trouble at 31 for 3.

Axar Patel was promoted but run out in an unfortunate manner as it hit the gloves of Rizwan. Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli looked cautious before launching an attack on Pakistan bowlers.

Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli changed the momentum of the game smashing 21 runs off Nawaz over. Both Indian batters kept the scoreboard ticking hitting boundaries and great between the wickets.

Kohli completed fifty off 43 balls and kept India in the game. The situation became tough for India, but Kohli took on Shaheen Shah Afridi. With 28 runs required off 8 deliveries, Kohli smacked 2 successive sixes off Rauf.

Hardik Pandya fell trying to hit a big shot caught by Babar Azam. Hardik and Kohli added 113 runs for the 5th wicket. The match looked gone but Kohli smacked a six including a no-ball.

Dinesh Karthik also fell with a superb stumping by Rizwan. Nawaz delivered a wide delivery with 1 run required. Ashwin smacked the boundary to help India chase down the target.

India 160 for 6 in 20 overs ( Kohli 82*, Pandya 40, Rauf 2/36) beat Pakistan 159 for 8 in 20 overs ( Shan Masood 52*, Ifkthitar Ahmed 51, Hardik Pandya 3/30, Arshdeep Singh 3/32) by 4 wickets.

For his match-winning 82 not out of 53 balls, Virat Kohli won the player of the match award.  

 







Kohli's brilliance takes India to a famous win 

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