Virat Kohli masterclass at the MCG as India clinch thriller against Pakistan

A Sunday afternoon, an India-Pakistan classic, the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Chase Master Virat Kohli’s signature showdown, it couldn’t have been any better for the Indian fans. A nail-biting thriller that went down to the very wire saw the Men in Blue eventually emerging victorious thanks to the legend called Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first on a surface that came forth with its own set of deceptive shenanigans. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s opening over against Mohammad Rizwan gave out the writing on the wall about a tormenting night for the batters. There was plenty of movement on the surface that was coupled perfectly with some nasty bounce that clearly proved to be Pakistan’s undoing.

In a messianic moment of redemption, Arshdeep Singh stunned Pakistan by claiming both of their openers and it was a treat for sore eyes. Babar fell to an ineluctable ripper that was swinging away from him, only for him to realize that all of it happened in the very line of the stumps. The left-arm seamer followed it up with a rowdy bumper that flew awkwardly from Rizwan’s blade only to be pouched by Bhuvneshwar Kumar comfortably in the deep.

Despite the early jitters, Pakistan managed to claw their way back through a battling Shan Masood while Iftikhar Ahmed turned on the heat pegging back the Indian bowlers despite the early infractions. It needed some experience to get the much-needed breakthrough and it came via Mohammed Shami who exhibited clinical precision to trap the latter’s legs plumb in front of the stumps.

The fall of Iftikhar sparked a collapse that stayed witness to Pakistan hacking away at their own feet as Hardik Pandya hunted in clusters, claiming three wickets from the last two overs that he bowled. Despite the regular fall of wickets, Pakistan somehow managed to keep things afloat through a hard-hitting Shaheen Afridi and a resilient Masood whose collaborative efforts helped them tot up 159 on the board.

India’s start to the chase wasn’t sweet at all which saw them losing the cream of their batting order in no time. KL Rahul played down Naseem Shah onto his own stumps while Rohit Sharma’s miscued effort off Haris Rauf was grabbed impeccably in the slip cordon.

Suryakumar Yadav got off to a fine start but couldn’t sustain his momentum as Haris Rauf produced another screamer to get a whiff of his gloves with Rizwan completing a simple take behind the stumps. India’s surprise decision to bring out Axar Patel in the middle ahead of Pandya didn’t produce dividends either as he was run out by Babar Azam after a mix-up.

As India teetered at 31 for the loss of 4, Kohli was joined by Hardik Pandya and the duo started the process of cautious rebuilding. It needed a lot of time and the patience required was absolutely ginormous. However, with two experienced campaigners in the center, India started to believe.

At the end of 17 overs, they needed 48 runs with the pitch still exhibiting some sharp movement and Hardik Pandya struggling in the middle. Shaheen Afridi was the man shouldered with the onus of restricting India and the Falcon realized Virat Kohli’s brilliance in its full swing for the first time.

Shaheen probed Virat with a shorter one on the middle stump and the RCB opener smashed him through the deep mid-wicket boundary to bring up his 34th half-century in the shortest format of the game. He followed it up with another stupendous drive that was the consequence of absolutely brilliant timing. The much-talked-about Pakistani ace quick was again taken to the cleaners on the final ball of his over that saw the former Indian captain pulling Afridi behind square leg for a boundary.

Despite prising out 17 runs from the over, India was still miles away from the target and Kohli had his task cut out. After a slow start to Haris Rauf’s over that was also the penultimate one for the Indian team, Virat Kohli conjured the shot of the tournament so far, where he whacked Rauf’s short ball on the middle stump straight over his head into the stands. The ensuing delivery produced another swashbuckler as he flicked it behind square leg for another maximum.

With 16 needed off the final over, Kohli could strike only one biggie where he whipped Mohammad Nawaz beyond the ropes and the remaining runs were stolen by some electric running between the wickets. After all the drama and the tension, on the final ball of the innings, Ravichandran Ashwin managed to loft Nawaz over the mid-off fielder to land that coup de grace.

Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match for his mind-bending 82* from just 53 balls while after the contest met its conclusion, there were a few drops of tears rolling down his cheeks. It was indeed an emotional outing for the Men in Blue as they started their T20 World Cup campaign with a massive victory.