IND vs PAK T20 World Cup report card: Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya inspire India to famous win at MCG

Till the start of the 19th over, India hadn’t hit a six against the formidable Pakistan pacers. Against the best bowler on the day, Haris Rauf, it was unlikely that India would change that unusual trend. The first four balls didn’t even see a boundary and then on the final two balls, Virat Kohli smoked two sixes to turn the match in India’s favour.

Here’s a quick form-check after the game:

KL Rahul ( 4 off 8 balls )

KL Rahul perished early when he chopped one back onto the stumps off Naseem Shah in the second over. With this knock, Rahul’s scores against Pakistan read – 3(8) in Dubai 2021, 0(1) in Dubai 2022, 28(20) in Dubai 2022, and 4(8) in Melbourne 2022.

Rohit Sharma ( 4 off 7 balls )

Skipper Rohit Sharma was the second wicket to fall in the fourth over when Haris Rauf picked up him up with a gem of a delivery that swung just enough to take the outside edge. Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored a fine fifty for his side, took a brilliant low catch in the slips. Rohit was equally guilty of not moving his feet and poking at the ball. In his last 10 innings against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma has scored 114 runs at an average of 14.25

Suryakumar Yadav (15 off 10 balls)

Suryakumar Yadav, who came in after the fall of Rohit, got off the mark quickly and smashed two boundaries to take the attack to the opposition. However, Haris Rauf’s snotter got the better of him and he departed for 15.

Virat Kohli ( 82 off 53 balls)

Virat Kohli began tentatively but then went on to score his 34th half-century in the shortest format. Kohli also recorded his fourth fifty from just five innings against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup history. The former India captain also became the leading run-getter in T20I history. His terrific knock helped India get back in the game and he remained unbeaten at the end.

Hardik Pandya ( 40 off 36 balls)

All-rounder Hardik Pandya bagged impressive figures of 3/20 in four overs. He then scored 40 vital runs off 36 balls. Pandya came into bat with his team tottering with four wickets down. Together with Kohli, he steadied the ship for India and his innings featured 1 six and 2 fours.

Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Karthik, who could score only 1 off 2 balls was brilliant behind the wickets and took a couple of very good catches.

Axar Patel ( 2 off 3 balls and 1/21)

Axar Patel, who struggled with the ball and bowled just 1 over for 21 runs was run out, just after the PowerPlay. This was after Babar fumbled a bit and the keeper also messed it up but ultimately got the bails off. Axar was gone for 2 off 3 balls.

Ravichandran Ashwin ( 0/23 in 3 overs )

R Ashwin was preferred over Chahal and the off-spinner had an ordinary day in the office. He bowled for the first time in the ninth over and was not effective. He also dropped a catch which probably swung the momentum in favor of the men in green. However, with the bat in hand, it was Ashwin who hit the winning runs with 1 needed of 1 ball.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar ( 1/22 in 4 overs )

A good first over by Bhuvneshwar where he consistently got late movement set the tone beautifully for Arshdeep to take over the baton and inflict telling damage.

Arshdeep Singh ( 3/32 in 4 overs )

Arshdeep Singh bowled a dream first spell and removed skipper Babar Azam (0) and Mohammed Rizwan (4) in his first two overs to set the tone.

Mohammed Shami ( 1/25 in 4 overs )

Shami did not bowl till the last over of Powerplay. Shami (1/25), coming back for his second spell trapped him plumb in front with a fuller delivery to end the 76-run third-wicket stand.