The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) witnessed one of the greatest games in cricket history. When it appeared that Pakistan would easily win their second World Cup match in a row against their arch-rivals, India staged a stunning comeback in the final few overs to secure a victory that will be remembered for generations.
Momentum ebbed and flowed in front of a record crowd of 90,293 supporters in a fantastic encounter. In the end, though, it was India who had the final laugh in this legendary game. With this win, the Men in Blue began off their T20 World Cup campaign in spectacular fashion, outplaying arch-rivals Pakistan in a closely contested game that lived up to the enormous hype it had generated in recent months.
Leaving away the excitement of the game, let’s look at the four major talking themes between India and Pakistan.
The historic India-Pakistan match: four major discussion topics
The match-winning combination
Team India had a disastrous start to their run chase, losing four wickets for 31 runs by the eighth over. Following the early collapse, Kohli and Pandya joined forces and established an incredible 113-run fifth-wicket partnership, anchoring the run chase.
Pandya was the major aggressor in the 78-ball partnership at first. Later in the slog overs, it was Kohli who took on the bowlers, guiding India to a historic victory.
Kohli stole the show, top-scoring for India and remaining unbeaten with an outstanding performance of 82 off 53 balls, including six fours and four sixes. The first six off the penultimate over against Haris Rauf was a shot for the ages, and proof that class is eternal.
Shaheen’s wicketless innings
There was a lot of talk about the duel between Pakistan’s spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi and the Indian hitters before the game started. Afridi, who was returning to international Betting Id after an injury absence, finished the crucial game with numbers of 4-0-34-0.
What was noticeable was that Shaheen didn’t appear to be at his best. The left-armer bowled in the powerplay and registered speeds in the low to mid-130s, clearly working his way back to match fitness.
Despite a decent cameo of 16 off eight balls, Shaheen was unable to have a significant impact on the match. Even at the death, he was unable to limit the runs and take wickets. The Men in Green expected Shaheen to come out and bowl a match-winning spell, but that didn’t happen, and Pakistan went into the last two overs still in danger of losing. It turned out to be true.
Arshdeep’s incredible new ball burst
In his maiden T20 World Cup outing, Arshdeep Singh set the tone for his squad with a spectacular session. Arshdeep bowled a match-defining spell, capitalizing on the movement available at the MCG. Arshdeep nailed the first delivery to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, a brilliant inswinger that darted back enough to compel the Pakistan opener to play past the line. Mohammad Rizwan (4), Babar’s opening partner, was removed when Arshdeep delivered a well-directed short ball, and Bhuvneshwar took the easiest of catches at fine-leg.
Arshdeep then completed with impressive figures of 3/32 off his four overs to offer India a good chance of avenging their humiliation to Pakistan in the last World Cup. If the left-armer can keep bowling like this, India will be difficult to beat.
The Last Over Drama
In T20 cricket, how frequently do you see a spinner bowl the final over of an innings? Not too often.
Mohammad Nawaz bowled the game’s final over for the second time in the same year against the same opposition. He should not, however, have bowled the final over. There was an error on the part of skipper Babar Azam. Whether he did it on purpose or not, it remains with Babar.
Arshdeep Singh vs. Mohammad Rizwan
Arshdeep Singh, a left-armer, is a perfect customer to rebuff Rizwan’s advances.
While Rizwan will be responsible for getting his side off to a good Betting Id, it will be up to Arshdeep to provide India with early breakthroughs. Rizwan has failed to accumulate runs on the offside and down the ground in the V-region despite being a T20 mainstay. Arshdeep can use the new ball to exploit this weakness, because if Rizwan survives the powerplay overs, he will be difficult to stop.
And if Arshdeep can dismiss Rizwan cheaply, India will have the upper hand in the match.
Shadab Khan vs. Suryakumar Yadav
According to one idea, how teams handle the middle overs generally determines T20 results. Suryakumar is a superb spin batsman who can rapidly apply pressure to any bowler. Shadab Khan, who has plagued the top batters in his career, might be Pakistan’s trump card against Suryakumar.
Shadab has bowled 14 deliveries to Suryakumar, allowing 18 runs, according to Mahadev Online Book. He hasn’t yet fired him. Suryakumar appears to dominate the spinners from the start, and Shadab may enjoy his chances of getting him out. The MCG’s large Betting Id may favor Pakistan’s ace spinner and allow him to tame the beast that is Suryakumar Yadav. This is one of the more exciting bouts to see in the high-octane showdown.
Shaheen Shah Afridi vs. Rohit Sharma
Shaheen Shah Afridi, the hero of Pakistan’s most famous World Cup victory over India, has been deemed fit for the team’s opening game against India after recuperating from a knee injury. Last year, Shaheen destroyed India’s top order with wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli. He’ll be aiming for the same amount of damage this time.
Rohit has been one of his team’s most successful batters in recent years. But he has Betting Id against the left-arm angle in particular. The right-handed batter has only faced Shaheen once in his career. And it wasn’t a memorable first for Rohit. Who was bowled for a golden duck by Pakistan’s pace spearhead. This time, Rohit will try to turn the tables and give his team a strong start, while Shaheen will want to make it two in a row.
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