India won the match against Pakistan in a nail-biting conclusion that took place at the MCG in front of more than 90,000 people.
Virat Kohli is no less than a sensation. That’s why, every time he takes the field, he elevates the whole globe with him. Or, at the very least, nearly one billion of its inhabitants.
On a day when only the exceptional were permitted inside the MCG, one of India’s greatests performed what may be his best T20 innings ever. With a dipped form in the recent past, Virat was eventually able to play a pivotal role in defeating Pakistan, bringing tears to his eyes.
Mithali Raj, former captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, expressed her gratitude in a tweet:
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! @imVkohli, what a terrific display of skills and temperament! That partnership with @hardikpandya7 changed the game. Spectacular win for India against the arch-rivals, Pakistan. Great start to the World Cup campaign. Well done #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/2TJoW0PsLw
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) October 23, 2022
India needed 48 runs to complete a 160-run chase in the last three overs. They were up against a bowling assault on a ground that delivered frightening speed and boiling bounce.
Haris Rauf was a flash of lightning that reintroduced Pakistan into this wild game. So he had no choice but to go.
Kohli batted at a level that should not have been feasible all night. It was ridiculous! Like the two sixes, he struck after the 19th over.
In a tweet, Sachin Tendulkar said of Kohli, “That was probably the finest innings of your life.”
.@imVkohli, it was undoubtedly the best innings of your life. It was a treat to watch you play, the six off the back foot in the 19th over against Rauf over long on was spectacular! 😮
Keep it going. 👍 #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/FakWPrStMg— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 23, 2022
The first was a slower ball coming up over his waist from behind. He could only have struck it over the bowler’s head if his resolve genuinely broke the rules of physics.
This match paid the price of spin to be this amazing. Anyone who couldn’t put speed on the ball got sent off. When Mohammad Nawaz faced the final over, he knew the same destiny awaited him.
He got off to a good start, dismissing Hardik Pandya, but when he ran against the day’s irresistible force, everything changed.
Kohli sent Nawaz over the huge square-leg boundary, signaling a no-ball long before the ball landed. That infuriated Pakistan. Babar Azam and the umpires had a lengthy, passionate, and emotional exchange. It was a close call, a full throw possibly just over waist-high, and India got what they wanted in the end.
Nawaz had a free shot, which he exploited to smash Kohli’s stumps, but it didn’t matter. A free hit will not get you bowled. As the ball sailed away, Kohli dashed three runs.
Once again, Pakistani discontent is heard. They believed the ball should have been dead after it struck the stumps, but the umpires disagreed again. Rod Tucker waved goodbye.
India needed two off one, but Kohli was on the sidelines. Dinesh Karthik had been perplexed somewhere in the thick of all of this.
R. Ashwin is on strike with two off one. Who is responsible for these scripts?
Nawaz entered the fray… and bowled a wide down the leg side.
Ashwin came on the strike, sidestepped the ball, and then chipped the ball over mid-off with one required off one. The sound barrier was broken when 90,293 people at the MCG – and untold millions more at home – yelled in unison. Some are in joy, while others are in misery.
Former Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar tweeted about the thrilling final seconds of the game:
Ok, just walked home from the MCG. Have lost my voice, am drain from emotional roller coaster 🎢 of that match, yet so pumped. @imVkohli was unbelievable out there. Only he could have won the game for 🇮🇳 #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 23, 2022
Meanwhile, Kohli was on his knees, like he had been in Mohali in 2016. He pounded the ground. This was something new. And when he appeared, he was surrounded. He let his teammates spend time with him before wriggling away to be alone.
Or, at the very least, as alone as he could be in a stadium full of people shouting his name. He lifted his right hand, forefinger up, and peered into the starry sky. Was he thanking me? Was he saying, ‘Ah, so this is why I had that form slump?’ Okay, fair enough.
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‘A good bargain.’ And then, all of a sudden, the captain of the Indian cricket team rushed onto the ground and pulled him off his feet. Rohit Sharma arrived at the presentation with no voice.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but India has another hero. Arshdeep Singh was his name. He shelled a catch in the closing seconds of a close game against Pakistan at the Asia Cup last month and was slammed with vicious vitriol on social media. He’s just 23 years old. He just wants to assist his team win. And he did exactly that tonight, dismissing Babar Azam lbw with his first ball in a T20 World Cup.
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Back then, this game was all about swinging and hooping and the grotesque geometry that the white ball is capable of. In the powerplay, Pakistan was reduced to 32 for 2. Then Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood allied, scoring on R Ashwin and Axar Patel. Spin couldn’t get a break throughout the game, allowing 107 runs in 72 balls, including eight sixes and nine fours.
Pakistan rallied to score 59 runs in the six overs immediately after the powerplay, forcing India to call out their quicks, and Hardik and Mohammed Shami took three wickets inside 12 balls. At deep midwicket, Shaheen Afridi stepped out at No. 9 and blasted one NSFW six over the farthest boundary in the pitch, bringing the score to 159 for 8. And the game was on.
Even for Pakistan, defending 160 is difficult. They’ve only done it three times in 13 games since 2019. This had the appearance of being fortunate number four.
Rohit and KL Rahul were handed the short end of the stick. Suryakumar Yadav was ejected. After 10 overs, India was 45 for 4. They needed to score almost two runs every ball for half of the innings if they were to win.
What a way to test a genius. Kohli was 12 for 21 at the time. He’d get back on track with a six off Nawaz, a thunderous shot after striding down the pitch. Hardik, on the other end, also got going. Pakistan realized they needed to bring back their heavy weapons after India scored 55 runs in five overs between the 11th and 15th overs.
Shaheen entered the scene. But he hadn’t played cricket since July 2022, and the rust was evident. A leg-stump yorker transformed into a low full toss, which, although not the worst ball to bowl in T20 cricket, nonetheless denies the hitter the space they need to score boundaries. But Kohli pulled it off. It just required a twist of his wrist.
That loft over extra cover that beat three fielders – one sprinting back and two converged from deep cover point and long-off – felt like a catharsis. Kohli has admitted to faking his intensity. It was natural for him to feel its grip here. And everything was OK. He was so amazing that he pumped the air even though India needed 37 off 15 balls.
Hardik, on the other hand, was still suffering. The pressure to get those sixes got to him, and he started looking in all the wrong spots, including the square of the wicket at the MCG. Rauf produced a magnificent 19th over – at least the first four balls – to raise the equation to 28 off 8. Kohli then went on strike.
He was aware that the straight limits were shorter. And he pursued them. I’ve got one on the ground. Then there was another behind the wicket. Poof, 12 off 2 in a flash.
What happened was bizzare and completely unbelievable for both the Green and the Blue fans. Actually, there isn’t a term for it. Kohli said as much. “I have no words, I’m not sure how.“
