Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

V Kohli
V Kohli
82(53) 6x4 - 4x6
Control %76%
  • Productive Shot
  • pull
  • 16 runs
  • 2x4 - 1x6
1 18 8 1 16 4 17 17
Shan Masood
Shan Masood
52(42) 5x4 - 0x6
Control %45%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 8 runs
  • 1x4 - 0x6
13 5 10 2 8 5 3 6

Best performances - Bowlers

HH Pandya
HH Pandya
O4
M0
R30
W3
Eco7.50
RHB
OFFLEG
2W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh
O4
M0
R32
W3
Eco8.00
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF

Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy

END OF OVER:
20 | 16 Runs 2 Wkts | IND: 160/6 | RR: 8.00

  • Ravichandran Ashwin1 (1b)
  • Virat Kohli82 (53b)
  • Mohammad Nawaz4-0-42-2
  • Haris Rauf4-0-36-2

11.12pm And that concludes our live coverage of this game. I need half an hour of simply sitting down and soaking it all in, and I'm sure you do too. But once you're done, do come back to read and watch all our post-match coverage, which I'm sure will be of the highest quality, much like the game you just witnessed. Congrats to India, tough luck to Pakistan, and let's hope fans on both sides of the divide react to the result with equanimity and the recognition that this was, above all, a superlative game of cricket. Until next time, it's goodbye from me, Matt, Ranjith and Thilak.

Rohit Sharma: "I have no voice left. We were always wanting to make sure we stayed in the game as long as possible. We've been talking constantly about it. No matter what the situation, you've got to believe you can pull through, and that partnership changed the game for us. There was good carry, good swing as well, and we utilised that well up front. That was good to see from the bowling perspective. They batted well in the middle. We knew it would not be an easy target on that pitch. We knew we would have to bat out of our skins. Virat and Hardik are experienced guys. Staying calm and taking it as deep as possible was critical, and they did that. It's good for our confidence to get off the mark in our first game, and the way we won is more pleasing for us, the way we came back. Hats off to Virat. It has to go off as not one of his best, but the best innings he has played for India. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us, and I will expect nothing less wherever we travel in Australia."

Babar Azam: "A tight game. We started well in our bowling, and then all credit to Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. They shifted the momentum and finished the game well. It's not easy with the new ball, with a little bit of swing and seam. We had a chance, and we just asked the boys to believe in themselves, but again credit to Virat Kohli. We needed a wicket, that's why we utilised our main bowlers [and kept Nawaz for the end]. A lot of positives. The way Iftikhar played, the way Shan played and finished the innings was good for us."

Amid all the excitement, just so you know, there's a Cricinfoverse to explore! Here's our own virtual world with the latest videos, stats, news, games, and much more - check it out.

Virat Kohli is the Player of the Match. He's not able to say much, because it's just too noisy for that. "Well, it's a surreal atmosphere. I honestly have no words. I have no idea how that happened. Hardik kept telling me, just believe we can stay till the end. I'm lost for words. Well, I think when Shaheen bowled from the Pavilion end, I told Hardik we have to take him down. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. It came down to 16 off 6. I'm kind of lost for words. [On the two sixes off Rauf:] It's just instinctively I saw it, told myself to stay still. The one at long-on was unexpected, it was a back-of-a-length slower ball. The fine leg one, I just threw my bat at it. Till today I said Mohali was my best T20 innings. Then I got 82 off 52, today I got 82 off 53. Both are just as special. All these months when I was struggling, you guys [the crowd] kept me going. Thank you so much."

Lakshitha: "Pakistanis can hold their heads high...! There was once in a generation player between them and victory. This game lived up to it's expectation and a lot more! Thank you cricket!"

Manu: "These last 3 Ind-Pak games have been absolute gems, reminds me of the 2004 series where they played after a long time and almost every game was closely competed. Bring back Ind-Pak bilaterals!"

Sixty: "So which is better, Mohali innings or this one."

Shaik: "The Poll of Cricinfo should have been delayed and this Virat Innings should be included in it or given as wild card entry."

10.54pm Virat Kohli. A few weeks ago, there were people (myself included) asking if he should still be part of India's T20I line-up. There's a reason I'm not a coach or a selector. Let's go back to the seventh over of this innings. India were 31 for 4, and going absolutely nowhere. What followed was a partnership for the ages between Kohli and Hardik Pandya, and when it came down to the finish, when it came down to 28 to win off eight balls, it was Kohli who found the route to the boundary. Two back-to-back sixes off the excellent Haris Rauf, and that put all the pressure on Mohammad Nawaz, whose last over had been held back right until Pakistan could hide him no more. This game began just under four hours ago, but it feels like it began four weeks ago. That's how much drama these two teams have packed into this one evening.

19.6
1
Mohammad Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 run, and Ashwin clears one of those infielders!!! What a cool, collected, and elegant finish!!! Full, angling into the stumps, and Ashwin makes a little bit of room and scoops the ball over mid-off. What a finish! What a freaking game!!!

Seven fielders in the circle now.

19.6
1w
Mohammad Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 wide, and Nawaz bowls a wide!!!! Expects Ashwin to try and make room, maybe, and sends a flat, quick one well down the leg side. Ashwin just watches it pass him, and the MCG explodes once more!

Whodathunkit. R Ashwin to face the last ball, with two runs needed. One to tie. Still just four inside the circle.

19.5
W
Mohammad Nawaz to Karthik, OUT, got him, a stumping off the pads!!! Goes flat, angling down leg, following DK's movement to make room. Looks to sweep, and the ball dribbles off the pad behind the wicket. And Rizwan is alert to the fact that DK has stumbled out of his crease. What a moment. Rizwan is well down the leg side when he collects the ball, and he falls to his right to complete the stumping

KD Karthik st †Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Nawaz 1 (10m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

Phew. It's down to two off two now, with DK on strike. Absolutely incredible scenes at the G. Do Pakistan bring their fielders in to crowd the ring? Nope, just four inside the circle. Keeper comes back up to the stumps.

19.4
3b
Mohammad Nawaz to Kohli, 3 byes, bowled him, but it's a free hit! And they run three by the time the throw comes in from the third man region!!! Full, angling into off stump, and Kohli misses his attempted sweep. But he knows it's a free-hit, and he sets off at full pace, as does DK. The ball rolls between the keeper and short third, and they pick up three byes

Five off three.

19.4
1w
Mohammad Nawaz to Kohli, 1 wide, now he bowls a wide! All the pressure is on the poor bowler, and he looks to keep it away from Kohli's reach, but ends up spearing his wide yorker beyond the off-side tramline

Suddenly, India need 6 off 3. Such a massive difference from 13 off 3.

Babar's having a heated discussion with the umpires. Was that above waist height? Tight call, I would think.

19.4
7nb
Mohammad Nawaz to Kohli, (no ball) SIX, full-toss, full-toss, and it's gone for six!!!! It's only just gone for six, but it's gone for six nonetheless! On off stump, and it's a fairly high full-toss too - it's been called no-ball!!! - and Kohli swats it away over the leg side. Deep square leg leaps to his right, gets a hand to the ball to try and flap it back into play, but it still lands beyond the rope

India 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st7RG SharmaKL Rahul
2nd3RG SharmaV Kohli
3rd16V KohliSA Yadav
4th5V KohliAR Patel
5th113V KohliHH Pandya
6th14KD KarthikV Kohli
7th2R AshwinV Kohli

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL32140.667
NED3214-0.162
NAM31220.73
UAE3122-1.235
First Round Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
ZIM32140.2
IRE32140.105
SCOT31220.304
WI3122-0.563
Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
NZ53172.113
ENG53170.473
AUS5317-0.173
SL5234-0.422
IRE5133-1.615
AFG5032-0.571
Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
IND54181.319
PAK53261.028
SA52250.874
NED5234-0.849
BAN5234-1.176
ZIM5133-1.138