India snatches a comfortable win over Pakistan in their world cup T20 match, making Indian hopes still alive in the tournament. India reached the target of 119 with 13 balls to spare for the loss of 4 wickets. Pakistan - 118/5 (18 overs), India – 119/4 (15.5 overs).
Pakistan bowlers toppled Indian top order batsmen putting India to 23 for three. India seemed losing the match but that man was there standing on the crease with a determined mind. Kohli who always have a great batting record against Pakistan, did shoulder the responsibility once again and batted sensibly to take India home.
Kohli remained not out on 55. In his 37-ball knock, he had hit seven boundaries and a maximum. 2011 world cup star Yuvraj Singh (24 from 23, 1x6, 1x4) played some useful shots in the middle order to take tension away from Virat’s shoulder. Before getting dismissed, Yuvraj added useful 61 runs with Kohli in the fourth wicket. This remained crucial in the match as well.
Man of the Match Kohli reached half century from 34 balls with the help of seven boundaries and a maximum. He remained unbeaten on 55 from 37 balls when Dhoni finished the match in his style with lofting the Mohammad Irfan delivery over long on for a six to equal the score and then pulled the next ball to the square leg for scoring the winning run.
Invited to bat fist, Pakistan scored 118 in 18 overs for the loss of five wickets. Shoaib Malik scored a 26 from ** balls. Batting was difficult in the slow and turning pitch especially in the beginning the pitch really did help the spinners a lot. But as the match progressed, Pakistan batsmen made a comeback and have put a decent total on the board to put pressure on India.
Shehzad in his anchoring innings scored 25 from 28 with the help of three boundaries. Afridi (8), Sharjeel Khan (17), and Umar Akmal (22) were the other Pak batsmen who got dismissed. For India; Suresh Raina, Bumrah, Jadeja, Nehra and Pandya took one wicket each. For Pakistan, Mohammad Sami picked two while Amir and Riaz shared one each. Amir bowled spectacularly well with conceding just 11 runs in his three overs.
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