Pak vs India: India defeats Pakistan with 4 wickets in a thriller contest

• Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli score over 100 runs.
• For his undefeated 82, Kohli received the Man of the Match award.
• India scored 160 runs after 20 overs while losing 8 wickets.

MELBOURNE: India defeated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup opener on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground thanks to the play of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya (MCG).

India faced early setbacks in their chase of 160 as they lost four wickets. However, when Kohli and Pandya intervened, they assisted the team in recovering and increased the pressure on the bowlers.

Pandya (40) and Kohli (82) had a partnership of 113 runs off 78 balls before to Pandya’s departure.

Despite the fact that they jointly controlled the game, India suffered a setback after Panday’s dismissal, and the match entered a tense period in the last over.

When Mohammad Nawaz bowled Pandya in the final over, India still needed 16 runs. Even though Dinesh Karthik was sent back to the pavilion, the Men in Blue’s will to win did not waver despite what initially appeared to be Pakistan’s advantage thanks to Nawaz’s no-ball and Kohli’s six.

India had 160 for the loss of eight wickets after 20 overs. The Man of the Match trophy went to Kohli.

Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf each claimed two wickets for Pakistan, but Naseem Shah only managed to claim one. Prior to that, Pakistan’s 159 runs against India were aided by Shan Masood (52) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51).

By preventing the Men in Green from scoring and eliminating the dangerous Pakistani opening pair in less than five overs, India gained control of the game early on.

In the first ball of the second over, Arshdeep Singh bowled a full, straight, and pinned lbw to dismiss Babar (0). Singh, who struggled in the Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan, managed to dismiss Rizwan in the fourth over (4).

Masood and Ahmed, though, then arrived, stabilizing the innings at a moment when the Men in Green’s

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam: “It was a tight game but we started bowling well. Our bowlers bowled really well and credit to Kohli who finished the game and shifted the momentum.

“With the new ball it’s not easy. We were up to the mark but India built a good partnership.

“We had a chance but we asked the boys to believe in themselves and execute their plans, but credit to Kohli for batting.

“It’s hard for the captain. In the middle of the game we decided we needed to take a wicket so we utilised our main bowlers and I think that’s why it was good for India.

“Lots of positive things to take away. Iftikhar and Masood played well until the end and that was good for us.”

Playing XI

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.

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