India vs Pakistan: Virat Kohli’s knock of a lifetime and other talking points from T20 World Cup clash

Virat Kohli produced one of his greatest knocks of all time as India defeated Pakistan in a last-ball thriller on Sunday to get their T20 World Cup campaign off to a resounding start.

T20 World Cup Home | Schedule | Results | Points Table | T20 World Cup News | Photos

Kohli produced a knock for the ages, steering India out of trouble after they were reduced to 31/4 at one stage and remaining unbeaten on 82 off 53 deliveries in the end as India chased down the 160-run target set by Pakistan, avenging their 10-wicket hammering against Babar Azam and Co in Dubai last year, the last time they faced their arch-rivals in a T20 World Cup match.

Read: Virat Kohli, a blessing for cricket, captain and coach

The Men in Blue have a three-day break after this game, taking on Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday in their next Group 2 fixture in the showpiece T20 event. The victory, however, will come as a major boost for the side who are desperately seeking to end a drought of ICC titles, having last won a major tournament in the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Looking back at what surely will rank as one of the greatest India-Pakistan matches of all time across formats, we bring to you some of the talking points from the game:

Arshdeep Singh’s brilliant powerplay

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep set the tone early in the Pakistan innings after India skipper Rohit Sharma opted to field, sending both Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan back to the hut early in the powerplay.

It was this very pair that had stitched an unbroken 152-run opening stand a year back in Dubai to end Pakistan’s World Cup jinx against India. And on Sunday in the big clash at the ‘G’, it was young Arshdeep — playing his first ever World Cup — who accounted for the two crucial wickets to put the Men in Blue in the driver’s seat, collecting two wickets for 10 runs in two powerplay overs.

Iftikhar-Masood stand

One of the key improvements the Pakistanis have made in recent months is in their middle order, where Iftikhar Ahmed has become a figure of consistency along with the likes of Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz among others.

And in the mother of all clashes against India on Sunday, it was Iftikhar and Shan Masood — his selection in the Pakistan World Cup squad itself coming as a surprise to some — who revived Pakistan’s hopes with a solid 76-run third wicket stand after the Men in Green were reduced to 15/2 in the powerplay thanks to Arshdeep’s superb spell.

Both batters would score half-centuries, with Masood remaining unbeaten till the end of the innings, guiding Pakistan to a competitive 159/8.

Yet another Indian top-order collapse

As has been the case with the Indian team in ICC events of late, especially in knock-out matches, their top-order once again crumbled in the face of some quality fast-bowling. The Men in Blue were staring down the barrel at 31/4 at the start of the seventh over and even with Kohli and Pandya at the crease, the prospect of chasing the 160-run target looked slim for the Indians.

While it was Shaheen Shah Afridi who led the destruction in last year’s clash, it was Haris Rauf who led the way this time around as he got skipper Rohit caught at slip before cramping Suryakumar Yadav for room to get him caught-behind. KL Rahul, meanwhile, ended up chopping the ball onto the stumps off Naseem Shah. And the move to promote Axar Patel didn’t quite work as he was run out after a mix-up with Kohli.

Virat Kohli’s greatest T20 knock ever?

Much like Sachin Tendulkar in the 1990s and 2000s, the game wasn’t over till the time Virat Kohli was at the crease. And Kohli certainly would’ve backed himself to pull off what at the time looked like a near-impossible chase.

Read: Kohli reveals how he planned his match-winning knock

He started off on a cautious note alongside Hardik Pandya, before accelerating in the middle stages of the innings and teeing off in the business end of the chase. Mixing caution with aggression, his assault of proven match-winners Rauf and Afridi in the slog overs is what makes his knock — that contained six fours and four maximums — one of his greatest of all time across formats.

And the shot that stood out was his pull straight down the ground off a slower bouncer from Rauf — who was entrusted with the penultimate over — that some are already calling the ‘Shot of the Tournament’.

Kohli was visibly emotional after guiding his team through to a memorable victory, and will surely look back at the evening spent at the ‘G’ as one of the most special moments of his life.

Hardik Pandya’s all-round show

While we hail Kohli’s unreal innings, let’s not forget Pandya’s contribution as the Gujarat Titans captains lived up to his billing of being a first-choice all-rounder for the Men in Blue with his performance of 3/30 as well as a 40.

With the ball, Pandya helped India stage a comeback in the middle overs at a time when Iftikhar and Masood were running away with the game and were beginning to give Babar and Co hope of posting a total in the range of 170.

Watch: Pandya’s mocks Ali after dismissal during T20 World Cup match

And he gave Kohli just the support he needed with the bat at a time when India were in the doldrums, collecting a four and two sixes during his supporting act as the pair stitched a match-winning 113-run stand for the fifth wicket, a partnership that got the Men in Blue back on their feet and took them within an inch of the finish line before Ravichandran Ashwin’s finishing touch.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.