From tottering at 31/4 to clinching a game that India had no business winning, Virat Kohli played an innings of a lifetime and ensured a miraculous win for the Men in Blue against Pakistan on October 23 (Sunday) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 runs of 53 balls, and as he himself admitted, it was the maverick batter's greatest knock in the shortest format of the game.
Kohli was India's ultimate hero, but there were other players who chipped in with crucial contributions, one of them being all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The swashbuckling three-dimensional player first bowled an incredible spell, bagged three wickets, and then played an important knock with the bat. He was dismissed in the last over after scoring 40 runs off 37 balls. His partnership of 113 runs with Kohli for the fifth wicket was one of the best alliances you will see under pressure.
Things got interesting in the last over when India needed two runs off three balls and Dinesh Karthik lost his wicket for a golden duck. Ravichandran Ashwin, who walked in next, displayed impeccable composure under pressure and finished the job on the match's last ball.
The veteran spinner revealed what he was thinking while going out to bat under tremendous pressure.
"The moment I saw the ball going down the leg side, I decided not to have any business playing it and decided to leave it alone and got one run for the wide. As soon as I got that run, I was so relaxed. As I walked in to bat, I cursed Dinesh Karthik for a second and then later thought, 'No no, we still have time, let us do what we were here for'. It seemed like I was walking for ages to get to the pitch," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
As dramatic as an India vs Pakistan clash can be. It was a game to be remembered for ages. Virat Kohli played his best T20I knock in a tricky run chase at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) whereas Pakistan’s inexperience led to mistakes in the slog overs that cost them the match. Rohit Sharma-led India won the game by four wickets off the final ball of the match.
