When India and Pakistan square off on the cricket field there is always drama and this T20 World Cup clash was no different with a sold-out MCG and hundreds of millions of fans worldwide on the edge of their seat in one of the most thrilling contests in cricket history.
Led by a brilliant innings of 82 from 53 from superstar Virat Kohli, India emerged triumphant in a controversial contest which went down to the wire with Ravi Ashwin scoring from the final ball to reel in the victory target of 160 to sink Pakistan by four wickets in heartbreaking fashion.
The result is enormous for India’s chances of advancing from the Super 12 stage to the semi-finals while Pakistan now must win all four of their remaining group matches to be in contention for a spot in the final four.
“It just shows Virat Kohli is in a class of his own,” Mark Taylor said on Nine commentary.
With three overs remaining, the Indians still needed 48 runs to win, Kohli brought up his half-century off 43 balls with a boundary and then hit two more off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s over to set up a grandstand finish.
Kohli sent Haris Rauf for back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over to leave India needing 16 from the final six deliveries from Mohammad Nawaz, who dismissed Pandya from his first ball for 40.
(Photo by Daniel Pockett-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
The pressure got to Nawaz, with the left-arm spinner bowling a waist-high full toss which Kohli hit for six to set up a free hit and he then bowled a wide. Still on a free hit, Kohli was then bowled but they scrambled through three runs from the ricochet to leave Dinesh Kartik on strike with two runs needed from the final two balls.
He was then stumped after he missed a sweep which dropped to the turf off his gloves to bring Ravi Ashwin out for the last ball.
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Nawaz then bowled a leg-side wide to tie the scores before Ashwin lifted the final delivery over mid-off to spark wild scenes of jubilation.
“Honestly, I’m lost for words,” Kohli said. “It’s a very, very special moment.” He said it was his most cherished T20 innings due to “the magnitude of the match”.
“It’s a surreal atmosphere. I honestly have no words. I have no idea how that happened.”
As the 90,000-plus rival fans at the packed iconic venue cheered themselves hoarse with every delivery in the final overs, veteran Kiwi commentator Ian Smith said: “Hands down the most amazing atmosphere I’ve ever heard at a game of cricket.”
Pakistan’s innings was mired in controversy with Ashwin found to have claimed a catch that bounced while Spidercam got in the way when a catch looked to be heading into the outfield.
Ashwin claimed an outfield catch to dismiss Shan Masood but after the Pakistani batter stood his ground, subsequent replays should the ball did not carry.
As he dived forward, it was clear his hands did not get underneath the ball before it hit the ground.
Later in his innings, Masood skied the ball straight up off the bowling of none other than Ashwin and instead of the ball ballooning to a fielder, it hit the “spidercam” camera which was suspended high above play and the umpires ruled a dead ball.
India’s bowling attack did well to restrict Pakistan to 8-159 in their blockbuster Twenty20 World Cup clash at a sold-out MCG.
But their top order failed in the run-chase with India slumping to 4-31 after the first ball in the seventh over with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul each out for just four, quickly followed by Suryakumar Yadav (15) and Axar Patel (2) before Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya salvaged the innings with a fighting century partnership.
There was further drama with Patel’s run-out with Pakistani keeper Mohammad Rizwan fumbling the ball as he broke the wicket.
After winning the toss, Sharma’s decision to field first immediately paid off, with young left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh removing Pakistani captain Babar Azam with his first ball in a World Cup.
The 23-year-old’s explosive opening spell, in which he also claimed Mohammad Rizwan, set the tone for the innings as Singh finished with 3-32.
After crawling to 2-32 at the end of the first powerplay, Pakistan received a boost through Iftikhar Ahmed and Masood as the pair added 76 for the third wicket.
Ahmed started boosting the run-rate in the 12th over, blasting spinner Axar Patel for three monster sixes in four balls.
But Sharma recalled Mohammed Shami to the attack in the following over and the veteran quick dismissed Ahmed for 51 to have Pakistan 3-91.
That wicket triggered a collapse of 3-7, with Shadab Khan and Haider Ali holing out to Hardik Pandya after powerful shots fell short of clearing the boundary.
Masood played the important anchor role, compiling an unbeaten 52 to give Pakistan a chance of defending their total.
The No.3 had late support from Afridi, who smashed an important 16.
Heavy rain predicted for Melbourne had threatened to interrupt the match, but Azam and Rizwan opened the batting under clear skies.
Sri Lanka cruise to win over Ireland
Sri Lanka have warmed up for a crucial Twenty20 World Cup clash against Australia with a thumping nine-wicket win over Ireland in Hobart.
The Sri Lankans chased down their target of 129 with five overs to spare on the back of an unbeaten 43-ball 68 from opener Kusal Mendis.
After losing the toss at Bellerive Oval on Sunday, Sri Lanka’s spinners came to the fore, with Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-25) the pick of the bowlers.
They travel to Perth for Tuesday night’s fixture against defending champions Australia, whose tournament got off to a horror start with an 89-run loss to New Zealand.
Sri Lanka, who topped Group A to qualify for the Super 12 stage, have now won three straight after a shock loss to Namibia in their opening match.
Mendis shared a 63-run opening partnership with Dhananjaya de Silva (31 from 25) to iron out a fair chunk of the chase.
“I’m really happy about the way we played. That’s the cricket we want to play as a team,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said.
“Going forward … I think (we) will continue with the confidence that the bowlers will do well.”
Sri Lanka rested opener Pathum Nissanka, who has a groin problem, but are hopeful of having him back against Australia.
They have been plagued by injuries, with pace spearhead Dushmantha Chameera and top-order batter Danushka Gunathilaka withdrawing from the tournament during the initial group stage.
Ireland could have headaches of their own, with allrounder George Dockrell being monitored as a potential COVID-19 case amid pending test results.
Cricket Ireland said Dockrell had very mild symptoms and was being managed in line with tournament and government protocols.
“A positive COVID test does not impede Dockrell’s ability to play or train, but to keep the rest of the squad as safe as possible, he will travel separately to the squad on match and training days,” they said in a statement.
Ireland, who made it through to the Super 12 stage after thrashing the West Indies by nine wickets, posted 8-128 in an innings that never got going.
Harry Tector top scored with 45 from 42, while opener Paul Stirling (34 from 25) looked good before falling in the ninth over.
Sri Lanka bowled their spinners during the latter overs to great effect, with Ireland managing just 28 runs from the final five overs.
Ireland next meet England at the MCG on Wednesday.
Sedz
Guest
Nothing wrong. Do you think someone will tour a country who sends suicide bombers. India have been in the receiving end of several problems from Pakistan and it’s appropriate that they don’t tour. Afghan has been in this state just because of ur rulers. Right from OBL to Taliban were accommodated in your homeland. And u know what your country ex leader has been shot now. You talk about security. Go figure it out.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
A revolt? A coup? An uprising against the tyrannical leaders?
Cam
Roar Rookie
That match highlights what we have been missing in international cricket. I have seen most of the Aussie matches this season and would be hard-pressed to recall a single moment from any of games, so it was good to finally see a match that matters and one that is personal to the players. Great game, the last 3 overs were something else. Kohli, who has hardly fired a shot in the past 2 or 3 years, further etched himself into Indian folklore.
Clear as mud
Guest
just putting this here, I didn't know this guy but anyone dying at 47 is just not fair - anyway, as someone who has lost years of my life to Cricinfo Statsguru, I just want to honour him and say thanks! RIP, legend. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/travis-basevi-the-architect-of-statsguru-and-one-of-cricinfo-s-pioneers-passes-away-1340918
Stuckbetweenindopak
Roar Rookie
BCCI chief Jay Shah threatened not to tour pakistan for the Asia Cup few days back on the lead up to this game! It is Diwali in mighty India, Giving a special gift to 1.3 billion of its people comes at some price and a really lucrative one for the seller!
Stuckbetweenindopak
Roar Rookie
It’s not about me. It’s about all the cricket fans who have been persuaded away from following the game feeling resentful with the behaviour of ICC. Over the last two decades, the ruling body, umpiring officials and the wealthy BCCI have displayed such a twisted and inexplicable behaviour so openly and shamelessly. Many fans may not have come to realise this bias due to being on the beneficiary end mostly. Rest can feel the injustice and are getting repulsive to cricket more and more.
Stuckbetweenindopak
Roar Rookie
Culturally It's a very routine thing to support pakistan in Indian Administrated Kashmir especially when it comes to cricket. It is going on since Britishers left But more than anything you don't, as a cricket fan, want to see officials so shamelessly tilted towards favouring a particular side.
Sedz
Guest
dude, he is a pakistan bot. Probably he made others believe he lived somewhere in Indian Kashmir. Going across his comments can give you a better idea. Coming back to today's match. Umpires clearly followed the rules as per say. You can go and look at the last over. And 19.2 was clearly over chest high and DK has come down the track it was not given as NO ball. But as Non-striker Kohli would have noticed it. 19.3 was a full delivery and they ran two. But 19.4 was similar delivery Umpires decided it is not gonna be right. Having said that, Rizwan was not even standing up to stumps earlier. He made Nazeem bowl Medium pace. Pakistan shit themselves and blame Umpires and ICC. Ofcourse blame BCCI too.
Sedz
Guest
Thank you whymuds. I think the game between India and Pak is played in better spirits than it was a decade ago. I could see Kohli/Rohit or Dravid meeting with Babar Azam/Rizwan and having lunch, whereas bots on Twitter fight against each other. It is, after all, a game. I remember it was very different in the ages of Inzamam/Ganguly/Shoaib Akthar/Waqar Younis. I intentionally didn't include Sachin or Wasim Akram, as both were gentlemen outside the game. Back then, Pakistan was a better team, but they were beaten by India in every world cup match (because they had extra pressure from ISI). But I am glad these days matches are equivalent and competitive but not crossing the line.
Kohli bhai
Guest
Pak bowled well.. Usually India are able to club people away from early but they struggled and limped to the 12th over Paks biggest mistake was not getting pandya or Kohli early. India were one batter short, if DK comes out early the game wouldn't be close. Kohli and pandya were legendary. They didn't panic at all and when the pressure was on they swung for the fences beautifully That 6 of Haris was crazy. I've never been able to hit a lofted drive of the back foot like that. To do it in that situation is more clutch than anything.
Kohli bhai
Guest
Stop with this spirit of the game stuff. The spirit of the game is to win within applicable laws, not some arbitrary, imaginary unwritten code some people dream up. It's colonial in a way to say, Hey I don't respect your win as you didn't abide by my version of the spirit.
Kohli return of the King
Guest
Beautiful match... I thought India were outgunned for awhile there. Pak as usual had those Quicks humming, they looked unhittable in this first ten overs. Kohli is similar to Tom Brady, in that he likes letting the other team give their best shot, learns what they're doing well and then comes out and adjusts to get a result. Those two are my fave sportsmen for a reason. The energy and passion from this game is unmatched.. bigger than Barca and Madrid or other big events. Congrats to India, what a time for the country. Growing in strength in geopolitics and in sports. Happy Diwali to all my wonderful Hindus
whymuds
Roar Rookie
Well said, Sedz. In close matches there are so many tight calls that could have swung the outcome from lineball umpiring / DRS decisions, luck (spider cam dead ball), and execution (a spinner bowling 2 wides in an over!). T20 doesn't leave much room to recover; over a test match these tend to even out. Perhaps last night there want a better team. The difference was one old bloke who turned back the clock to produce a masterpiece. And the uproar about Ashwin... shesh, talk about clutching. After the "catch" he got up, looked at his fingers and casually ran towards his team. It's not like he threw the ball in the air and screamed in jubilation. I've seen many more obvious bump balls be claimed by players over the years.
Sedz
Guest
Being an Indian fan, I do not see an issue with running for free-hit, and I have seen this happen before a few times, including WBBL and some of the international matches. At best No-ball call was very close, and Aswin claiming the catch was wrong (good that right decision was given). But I thought he signaled he was unsure of the catch, and it was sent to 3rd umpire. Axar Patel run out was equally dubious as there was no conclusive evidence. End of the day it was an excellent theatre for Cricket. But having said that, I do not see any team as firm favorite in this format. But one out of England, NZ, Aus, India, Pakistan and SA can win this tournament. Each team has its own problems though either with batting or bowling. I vouch for one of NZ or SA this time. England - Poor bowling (Batting is very strong but .. ) Pakistan - Poor batting (Middle order is weak but pace bowling is good) Aus - Both departments have a weak area India - Both departments have weak areas (batting can still improve by bringing Pant/Hooda) SA - Both are poor and may choke at crucial times NZ - Always arrive at ICC tournaments (Few batsman are not in form including captain KW).
Rellum
Roar Guru
Stanlake is a shadow of his former self. Sanga can't be a serious suggestion, not Kerr. The others sure
Rellum
Roar Guru
That choke from the bowler was so massive, given the history of Pakistan cricket my thoughts unfortunately turn to more nefarious reasons. I hope it was just a choke for the ages.
Clear as mud
Guest
it happened earier last week in the wbbl and helped lose the Stars a match
Clear as mud
Guest
it's actually standing upright according to 41.7 below. therefore no way a No Ball. Oh well... 41.7 Bowling of dangerous and unfair non-pitching deliveries 41.7.1 Any delivery, which passes or would have passed, without pitching, above waist height of the striker standing upright at the popping crease, is unfair. Whenever such a delivery is bowled, the umpire shall call and signal No ball.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
Divided might be wrong word. A big shift?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
And I think that's at the heart of the discussion. It's an uncommon occurrence, so people are getting their heads around what they saw, but for mine it sits comfortably within the fundamentals of the game as the rules currently exist. The boundary countback in 2019 was something altogether out there.