IND vs PAK 2022: 3 moments during India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match that created buzz among fans
Virat Kohli played one of the best innings ever witnessed in the history of T20 cricket as Team India stunned Pakistan in a last-gasp thriller at the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the MCG.
Pakistan's new-ball attack was once again too hot to handle for the Indian openers and the wicket of the in-form Suryakumar Yadav pushed the Men in Blue further back. However, the 113-run stand between Kohli and Hardik Pandya just about kept their team in the game.
Having brought up his fifty off 43 balls, Kohli absolutely unleashed himself and scored 32 runs off his last 10 deliveries as India won by four wickets to kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign in incredible fashion.
On that note, let's take a look at three moments from the game that became talking points for fans:
#3 Ashwin's presence of mind
Did nothing to do everything, @ashwinravi99 🧠🙏 https://t.co/G0ukHAGao4
Ravichandran Ashwin is known as one of the most intelligent cricketers in modern-day cricket and he showed us why during the dying moments of the game. With two runs needed off the final ball, the all-rounder gave bowler Mohammed Nawaz the impression that he was going to shimmy down the track.
Watching the batter's feet move, Nawaz tried to fire the ball at Ashwin's legs. But the veteran batter showed great match awareness to get back into the crease and leave the delivery, which then became a wide down the leg-side.
The wide was a huge anti-climax as that ensured India weren't going to lose the game, at least not without a Super Over. Fans on Twitter hailed Ashwin for showing a great presence of mind in such a crunch situation.
#2 Virat Kohli's controversial no-ball call
Umpire bhaiyo, food for thought aaj raat k liye 😉 https://t.co/vafnDG0EVd
Virat Kohli smashed two sixes off the final two balls of Haris Rauf's spell and gave India a genuine chance to chase 16 runs off the last over. Nawaz had the ball in hand and started brilliantly, conceding just three runs off his first three balls.
With 13 needed from three, one could almost sense that the next delivery would go into the stands if the Men in Blue wanted to stay alive in the contest. That is exactly what happened as Kohli smashed a full-toss over square leg for a six.
What was more interesting was that when the former Indian captain questioned the square leg umpire regarding the height of the full-toss, the latter adjudged it as a no-ball. This proved to be a significant moment in the game as the chasing team scored seven runs without a legitimate ball being bowled.
Pakistan fans and some former players were unhappy with this decision as they felt the ball was not above Kohli's waist height. It was a marginal call, but it proved to be highly important in the context of the game.
#1 Rohit Sharma picking up Virat Kohli
This moment was special - a lovely celebration between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. https://t.co/51lQweBjY7
After Ashwin hit the winning runs, the roar from Kohli showed how much the win meant to him. His 82*(53) came at a time when the Men in Blue were almost down and out, but he had the self-belief and backed himself to take his team over the line.
One could see him getting emotional in the middle as he was on his knees and let the moment sink in, before Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya stormed on to the field to hug him.
But the best moment was arguably when captain Rohit Sharma picked Kohli up on his shoulders. Rohit backed Kohli when questions were asked about the latter's place in the T20I team not long ago. The bond between the two modern-day greats of Indian cricket was definitely wholesome for the fans to see.