WT20: Kohli anchors India to six-wicket cruise past Pakistan
Match was reduced to 18 overs per side because of rain delay
KOLKATA (Dunya News/AFP) - Cool-headed Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten half century as India cruised to a comfortable six-wicket victory over arch rivals Pakistan at Kolkata s Eden Gardens in the World Twenty20 Saturday.
India put their campaign back on track after suffering a shock loss against New Zealand in the tournament opener, extending their jinx in major tournaments against Pakistan.
Chasing 119 on a track that seemed dual-paced, India lost their top three batsmen early only to see Kohli and Yuvraj Singh put together a 61-run, fourth-wicket partnership to help the hosts canter home in 15.5 overs in a game reduced to 18 overs a side because of rain.
Kohli (55 not out) and Yuvraj combined caution and aggression to blunt the Pakistan bowling attack, which seemed to miss left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, who made way for Mohammad Sami.
Sami did make an impression by sending back Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in his opening over to be on hat-trick but Pakistan s four-pronged pace attack had no answers to Kohli s batting.
Yuvraj (24) fell to Wahab Riaz, but Kohli, who was joined by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the finale, was in cruise control as his 37-ball knock was laced by seven boundaries and a six.
Dhoni joins party
Dhoni (13 not out) swiftly joined the party as he hit a six to level the scores and then hit the winning runs in front of a raucous crowd.
Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik played useful cameos to guide Pakistan to 118 for five, a score which looked competitive on a tricky surface.
Put in to bat on a moisture-laden pitch that saw heavy rains through the day, Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Shehzad (25) played cautiously at first and then lost their wickets as they tried to accelerate.
Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina looked dangerous in their opening spells on a track that provided turn and bounce, but the Pakistan batsmen did well to show patience.
Fresh from his match-winning exploits against Bangladesh, skipper Shahid Afridi (8) promoted himself to number three but the boom was missing from his shots this time around.
The hard-hitting batsman could only find a single boundary in his scratchy 14-ball stay as he walked back amid loud cheers from the capacity crowd.
Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik then stitched together a crucial 41-run stand that helped Pakistan put up what seemed a respectable score.
Akmal (22), whose 16-ball knock was studded with a boundary and a six, was caught behind off Ravindra Jadeja s left-arm spin.
Innings top-scorer Malik (26), who hit three boundaries and a six in his 26-run innings, soon joined Akmal in the dug-out after trying to force Ashish Nehra s pace.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez finished off the innings as Pakistan got seven off the last over.
But Pakistan s efforts were negated by Kohli who deservedly got the man of the match award.
India next play Bangladesh in Bangalore on Wednesday, while Pakistan head to Mohali to meet New Zealand on Tuesday.
India Innings
Overs 15.5: 1 run. INDIA WIN BY 6 WICKETS. Dhoni guides this short one from Irfan towards leg side, takes the single and India win this one comfortably. They finish at 119/4 with plenty of overs to spare.
Overs 15.4: SIX! MS Dhoni whacks this towards midwicket for a maximum. Scores level. Ind 118/4
Overs 15.2: FOUR! Wide from Irfan and Kohli is not going to miss this one. Slaps towards the off-side for a boundary. Ind 111/4
Overs 14.3: 1 run. Kohli hits this one towards the leg-side and brings up his 50 with that! What an innings. Ind 101/4
Overs 14.2: FOUR! Again he goes towards the covers and gets a boundary. Afridi is not pleased with himself. 100/4
Overs 13.6: FOUR! Kohli goes through the covers once again and times this one from Amir beautifully. Ind 95/4
Overs 12.1: FOUR! Beautiful shot through the covers from Kohli off Afridi s first ball of the over. Ind 88/4
Overs 11.6: OUT! Much needed breakthrough for Pakistan! Yuvraj tried to hit Riaz once again towards midwicket for a big one but felt short and ended up getting caught near the boundary. Ind 84/4
Overs 11.1: SIX! Short pitched ball and Yuvraj has smashed this one from Riaz towards midwicket for a big one! Ind 80/3
Overs 10.5: FOUR! This time he smacks Malik towards midwicket and gets a four. India 74/3
Overs 10.3: SIX! Kohli violently sweeps this one off Malik and the ball ends in the stands towards leg side for a huge one. Ind 70/3
Overs 9.6: No run. At the end of 10 overs, Blue Shirts are 60 for 3
Overs 9.1: FOUR! Disappointing start of the over for Wahab as Kohli plays it towards midwicket where Sharjeel is unable to stop the ball crashing into the boundary. Ind 58/3
Overs 8.6: 2 runs. Yuvraj plays this one from Malik towards leg-side and both batsmen run at full pace grabbing two runs for their side. Ind now 54 for 3
Overs 7.6: 1 run. Kohli plays this full length ball from Afridi towards the covers and grabs a single. Ind 46/3
Overs 6.3: FOUR! Shot through the covers from Yuvraj as Amir dives near the cover region to cut it off but is unable to do so. Ind 37/3
Overs 6.1: FOUR! Classy shot from Kohli towards off side off Sami s short-widish ball. Ind 32/3
Overs 5.6: No run. Afridi s first over comes to an end as he concedes 5 runs from it. Some of his balls turned rather sharply, making life slightly tough for Yuvraj Singh. Ind 28/3
Overs 4.4: OUT! Unbeliveable stuff! Sami grabs another one in a similar fashion! Another inside edge and Raina is bowled! Ind 23/3
Overs 4.3: OUT! Inside edge and Dhawan chops it on his stumps! Sami grabs the second wicket for Pakistan. Ind 23/2
Overs 4.1: FOUR! Welcome to the crease, Sami! He bowled it slightly short and Dhawan slaps it towards the off-side for a four. Ind 22/1
Overs 3.6: No run. Change of pace from Irfan and Kohli, who looked to play it at first, leaves it alone. Ind 18/1
Overs 2.1: OUT! Big wicket for Pakistan! Amir once again picks up the wicket of Sharma who skied this one and Malik took a brilliant catch in the end. Ind 14/1
Overs 1.5: FOUR! Another short one from Irfan and Sharma pulls it towards leg-side for four. Ind 13/0
Overs 1.1: FOUR! Short and wide from Irfan. Sharma smacks it towards off side for four. Ind 8/0
Overs 0.3: 1 leg-bye. Bowled down the leg-side by Amir to Sharma. The ball touches goes behind square leg after hitting his pads and the batsmen pick a run. Ind 2/0
Overs 0.2: Wide ball from Amir. Ind 1/0
Pakistan Innings
Overs 17.6: 1 leg-bye. End of the innings and Bumrah has bowled a splendid final over for India, giving away only 7 runs. Pakistan end their innings at 118 for 5.
Overs 16.5: FOUR! Improvisation from Sarfraz as he guides this wide full toss from Nehra towards fine leg for a four, Pak 111/5
Overs 16.2: OUT! Another big wicket falls as Malik skies this short one from Nehra and ends up getting caught at short fine leg area. Pak 105/5
Overs 15.5: OUT! Akmal is caught behind off Jadeja s deliveryas he tried to cut it but failed. Pak 101/4
Overs 15.3: FOUR! Sweeps it wildly and gets a boundary towards off Jadeja s ball towards square leg area. Pak 100/3
Overs 14.5: FOUR! Two in two from Malik! This time he plays it towards the leg side as the crowd goes into deep silence. Pak 95/3
Overs 14.4: FOUR! Firm hit from Malik towards the covers from Bumrah s lower full toss. Pak 91/3
Overs 13.6: SIX! Big one! It s Akmal this time and he whacks it towards long-on area for a huge one. Run-rate rises. Pak 82/3
Overs 13.4: SIX! Some signs of aggression. Malik lofts this one from Pandya miles into the stands towards mid-wicket area. Pakistan needs more hits like this one. They are 75/3
Overs 12.6: 1 run. Low-wide full toss and Malik plays it towards the sweeper at cover region for one run. Pak 67/3
Overs 11.6: 5 runs! Direct hit from the fielder but the batsman was in his crease but there was no one to collect the ball and it rushed towards the boundary, giving additional four runs to Pakistan. They are 65/3
Overs 11.5: OUT! Afridi departs. Went after Pandya s slightly short ball and ended up being caught by Kohli at long-on. Pak 60/3
Overs 11.2: FOUR! Akmal smacks this short one from Pandya towards midwicket region for four. Pak 59/2
Overs 10.6: 1 run. Afridi pushes this one from Jadeja towards point area and grabs a single. 3 runs from the over. Pak 54/2
Overs 9.3: FOUR! Short pitched ball, skipper Afridi top edged it and it landed safely at deep fine leg area and crept towards the boundary cushion. Pak 50/2
Overs 9.2: OUT! And he goes straight away! Silly shot from Shehzad as he swung at this wildly and ended up skying it. The fielder at point area takes the catch and Bumrah grabs a wicket. Pak 46/2
Overs 9.1: FOUR! Shehzad goes down on one knee and flicks this one from Bumrah towards fine leg area for four. Pak 46/1
Overs 8.6: No run. Shehzad tried to follow this one bowled down the leg-side from Jadeja but edged it in the process. Thankfully, the ball landed away from any fielder. Pak 42/1
Overs 7.3: OUT! What a catch from Pandya but he seems to have injured himself in the process as he dived forward taking this one off Sharjeel s bat ending up hitting his face in the ground. Pakistan lose their first man. They are 38/1
Overs 6.4: FOUR! Shehzad played this one from Jadeja towards third-man knowing that there was slip in place but he survives and it the balln creeps towards the boundary rope for a four. Pak 34/0
Overs 5.6: 1 run. Another good over from Ashwin comes to an end as Sharjeel seems to have no idea which way his ball is going to turn after pitching. Pak 29/0
Overs 4.6: FOUR! Shot through the covers from Sharjeel off Bumra s slightly short pitched delivery. Pak 24/0
Overs 3.3: FOUR! Shehzad dances down the pitch and hits this one from Ashwin powerfully towards midwicket. Pak 18/0
Overs 2.6: FOUR! First boundary of the innings as Sharjeel flicks this one off his pads from Nehra. Pak 13/0
Overs 1.6: 1 bye. A wonderful first over from Ashwin as both Shehzad and Sharjeel are unable to read the spin on the ball and play accordingly. Pak 5/0
Overs 0.6: No run. Nearly a chance for a wicket there! Change of pace from Nehra and Shehzad did not quite pick this one up and almost played it back to the bowler. Pak 3/0
Overs 0.1: 1 run. Pakistan and Sharjeel Khan off the mark. Sharjeel played this one from Nehra towards leg-side for a single. Pak 1/0
India Line-up
RG Sharma
S Dhawan
V Kohli
SK Raina
MS Dhoni (c)
Yuvraj Singh
HH Pandya
RA Jadeja
R Ashwin
JJ Bumrah
A Nehra
Pakistan Squad
Sharjeel Khan
Ahmed Shehzad
Mohammad Hafeez
Umar Akmal
Shoaib Malik
Sarfraz Ahmed
Shahid Afridi (c)
Mohammad Sami
Wahab Riaz
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Irfan
