T20 World Cup 2022: 3 records that India broke during India's historic win against Pakistan on Sunday
Owing to a masterful knock by Virat Kohli, Team India pulled off a historic win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening game of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23).
The high-octane match between the two bitter rivals was undoubtedly one of the best cricket matches in recent memory, despite its ebbs and flows throughout.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, India restricted Pakistan to 159-8 as Shan Masood (52* off 42) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51 off 34) scored fifties. Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya were the two picks of the bowlers for India, picking up three wickets apiece.
In response, the Men in Blue were on the verge of being derailed once more when the top order collapsed, but Kohli (82* off 53) and Hardik Pandya (40 off 37) managed to mount a comeback. After completing his first 50 runs in 43 balls, Kohli went into full-on beast mode to lead India to an incredible victory.
En route to their staggering win, the Rohit Sharma-led unit shattered and created a slew of records to their name. Let's look at three of those records that India created in their clash against Pakistan in Melbourne.
#3 India registers their first-ever successful last-ball run-chase win in ICC events
From being in a vulnerable situation where they looked dead and buried, India managed to stay in the game till the last over.
The Men in Blue eventually won the highly contested encounter on the very last ball. Ravichandran Ashwin lofted the ball over mid-off for four when India required just one run off the ultimate delivery.
Mindest of Ravi Ashwin 🤭 https://t.co/PUSirTBgVv
Interestingly, this was India's first-ever successful last-ball run-chase victory in ICC events. Overall, it was only the fourth instance where India successfully managed to hunt down a target on the last ball in T20Is.
#2 India have now scored the joint-most runs in last three overs of a successful run-chase in T20Is
Virat Kohli displayed some outlandish strokeplay, especially in the last few overs, to take India home. While the win wasn't impossible, it did look unlikely when India required 48 runs off the last three overs.
However, when India finally accomplished the arduous task, they achieved a remarkable record of scoring the joint-most runs in the last three overs of a successful run-chase in T20Is.
In their famous semifinal win over Pakistan at the 2010 T20 World Cup, Team Australia also scored 48 runs in the final three overs.
#1 India now holds the record for most international wins in a single calendar year
With their sensational win over Pakistan, India etched their name in the history books to become the team with the most international wins in a single calendar year.
Dear Virat Kohli, thankyou for carrying Team India in so many important occasions ❤️🇮🇳
#indvspak #CricketTwitter https://t.co/I2tKgrxmWX
India's win on Sunday was their 39th international win in 2022, surpassing Australia’s record of 38 wins in 2003.
Having played 56 matches across all formats so far this year, India have won 38 encounters while losing 16 of them. Their one T20I against South Africa earlier this year was washed out due to rain.