Melbourne : India clinch a thrilling victory against arch rivals Pakistan by 4 wickets at the jam packed Melbourne Cricket Ground with the help of Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82*.
Chasing a total of 160, India didn’t start well as the top order departed early to the pavilion, namely KL Rahul, skipper Rohit Sharma, Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav. India were 31/4 , under pressure, but this is from where the match began to shift in favor of India as Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya began to build a partnership. With the help of sense and aggression, the duo added a partnership of 113 runs. The death overs of the match became more thrilling as Virat Kohli butchered star Pakistani bowlers namely Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, thus, bringing the almost-gone match in favor of India. The situation was such that, 16 runs were required off the last over, and Hardik Pandya lost his wicket in the very 1st ball. None the less, Kohli settled the scores as he stuck 6 in the 4 th ball, which was also a no ball. With 2 runs required off 2 balls, the match took another twist as Dinesh Karthik lost his wicket being stumped. The scenario was now, the new Batsman Ravi Ashwin was on strike and 1 was needed off the last ball, and Ashwin chipped the last ball over mid off giving India a famous victory at the MCG. Virat Kohli was adjourned the man of the match for his heroics.
In the 1st innings, being put to bat, Pakistan lost their 2 openers cheaply but a partnership between Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed turned things in favor of Pakistan. After the partnership of 76 runs was broken the lower order began to collapse but Shan Masood with his unbeaten 52* took Pakistan to a total of 159 runs. Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh took 3 wickets each thus, stopping Pakistan, any further.
Brief Scorecard :
1st Innings :
Pakistan : 159-8(20)
Shan Masood : 52*(42)
Iftikhar Ahmed : 51(34)
India
Arshdeep Singh : 3/32
Hardik Pandya : 3/30
2nd Innings :
India : 160-6(20)
Virat Kohli : 82*(53)
Hardik Pandya : 40(37)
Pakistan
Haris Rauf : 2/36
Mohammad Nawaz : 2/42
Result : India win by 4 Wickets
