Pakistan vs. India: Kohli and Pandya’s partnership leads India to victory in a tight match
At the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia, on October 23, 2022, during India’s inaugural T20 World Cup match against India, Virat Kohli and Hardik Panya bump fists. — BCCI/Twitter
At the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia, on October 23, 2022, during India’s inaugural T20 World Cup match against India, Virat Kohli and Hardik Panya bump fists. — BCCI/Twitter
Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli score over 100 runs.
For his undefeated 82, Kohli received the Man of the Match award.
India scored 160 runs after 20 overs while losing 8 wickets.
MELBOURNE: In the opening T20 World Cup encounter on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India defeated Pakistan by four wickets thanks to the partnership of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya (MCG).
India faced early setbacks in their chase of 160 as they lost four wickets. However, when Kohli and Pandya intervened, they assisted the team in recovering and increased the pressure on the bowlers.
Pandya (40) and Kohli (82) had a partnership of 113 runs off 78 balls before to Pandya’s departure.
Despite the fact that they jointly controlled the game, India suffered a setback after Panday’s dismissal, and the match entered a tense period in the last over.
When Mohammad Nawaz bowled Pandya in the final over, India still needed 16 runs. Even though Dinesh Karthik was sent back to the pavilion, the Men in Blue’s will to win did not waver despite what initially appeared to be Pakistan’s advantage thanks to Nawaz’s no-ball and Kohli’s six.
India had 160 for the loss of eight wickets after 20 overs. The Man of the Match trophy went to Kohli.
Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf each claimed two wickets for Pakistan, but Naseem Shah only managed to claim one.
Prior to that, Pakistan’s 159 runs against India were aided by Shan Masood (52) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51).
By preventing the Men in Green from scoring and eliminating the dangerous Pakistani opening pair in less than five overs, India gained control of the game early on.
In the first ball of the second over, Arshdeep Singh bowled a full, straight, and pinned lbw to dismiss Babar (0). Singh, who struggled in the Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan, managed to dismiss Rizwan in the fourth over (4).
Masood and Ahmed, who were brought in after the Men in Green’s trusted tandem had been dismissed, stabilised the innings. Before Ahmed was out, the hitters scored 76 runs together.
Shaheen Shah Afridi also had significant innings since his rapid boundaries in the final few overs put pressure on India. At a strike rate of 200, he was able to add 16 runs to Pakistan’s total.
Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya led the way for India with each taking three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami both claimed one victim.
Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf make up the playing XI for Pakistan.
India: Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma (c),
