A Virat Kohli-inspired India defeated rival Pakistan in a classic Men’s T20 World Cup match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India successfully chased 160 with four wickets remaining in front of a raucous crowd of 90,293 – Kohli finishing 82 not out.
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They were struggling at times, none more so than when they needed 13 points from the final three balls.
However, Kohli, a master of such nights, clubbed spinner Mohammad Nawaz’s full toss for six, a delivery that was later ruled a no-ball.
Nawaz then hit a wide, and Kohli was bowled next, but because the delivery was still a free hit, India was able to score three runs off the stumps.
After Dinesh Karthik was stumped, Nawaz bowled another wide, this time down the leg side, to new batter Ravichandran Ashwin.
As a result, Ashwin needed to take one from the final delivery, and he lifted the ball over mid-off to thunderous applause from the crowd.
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Kohli knelt in the middle, while Ashwin dashed towards his teammates on the move. Previously, Pakistan had recovered from India‘s explosive start to post 159-8.
Despite losing captain Babar Azam for a golden duck and fellow talisman Mohammad Rizwan for four runs to left-armer Arshdeep Singh’s brilliant new-ball spell, Pakistan managed to post a competitive total.
