In what was an instant World Cup classic that had its heroes, its villains, last-over drama and everything in between, India somehow managed to beat Pakistan by four wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
The biggest of the heroes undoubtedly was Virat Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 82 off 53 that included a six in the final over when 16 were needed.
Kohli, along with Hardik Pandya, helped their team recover from 31 for four to somehow drag it over the line.
The climax of the match was the final over, which was given to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz on a night where spin was a liability for both the sides.
Earlier, Pakistan posted a decent recovery after an almost nightmare start that saw both their star openers perish early. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood’s half-centuries helped the Green Shirts post 159-8 runs.
After inviting Pakistan to bat first, Indian seamers found plenty of bounce and movement, just as they had in their first encounter during the recent Asia Cup.
Babar Azam was out on golden duck and Mohammad Rizwan followed him back in the dugout soon after. Shan Masood played the anchor and hung around till the end but the real star was the much-criticised Iftikhar Ahmed, whose 34-ball 51 at one point threatened to unclench India’s grip on the innings.
However, once he fell, the leakage of wickets resumed, with no one sticking with Masood for long enough. The one-down lefty finished with 52 runs off 42 balls. A 16-run cameo at the very end by Shaheen Afridi was invaluable in boosting the score.
INDIA WIN
160-6 after 20 overs: Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 run
159-6 after 20 overs: Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 wide
158-6 after 19.5 overs: Nawaz to Karthik, OUT
158-5 after 19.4 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, 3 byes
155-5 after 19.4 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, 1 wide
154-5 after 19.4 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, (no ball) SIX
147-5 after 19.3 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, 2 runs
145-5 after 19.2 overs: Nawaz to Dinesh Karthik , 1 run
144-5 after 19.1 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, OUT
Virat Kohli 74 (50), Hardik Pandya 40 (36)
144-4 after 19 overs: Haris Rauf to Kohli, SIX
138-4 after 18.5 overs: Haris to Kohli, SIX
132-4 after 18.4 overs: Haris to Hardik, 1 run
131-4 after 18.3 overs: Haris to Hardik, no run
131-4 after 18.2 overs: Haris to Kohli, 1 run
130-4 after 18.1 overs: Haris to Hardik, 1 run
Hardik Pandya 41 (34), Virat Kohli 57 (46)
129-4 after 18 overs: Shaheen Shah Afridi to Hardik, FOUR
125-4 after 17.5 overs: Shaheen to Hardik, 1 run
124-4 after 17.4 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, 1 run
123-4 after 17.3 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, FOUR
119-4 after 17.2 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, 2 runs
119-4 after 17.2 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, 1 wide
118-4 after 17.1 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, SIX
Hardik Pandya 37 (32), Virat Kohli 46 (42)
112-4 after 17 overs: Naseem to Hardik, 2 runs
110-4 after 16.5 overs: Naseem to Hardik, no run
110-4 after 16.4 overs: Naseem to Kohli, 1 run
109-4 after 16.3 overs: Naseem to Kohli, no run
109-4 after 16.2 overs: Naseem to Kohli, 2 runs
107-4 after 16.1 overs: Naseem to Hardik, 1 run
Hardik Pandya 34 (29), Virat Kohli 43 (39)
106-4 after 16 overs: Haris to Hardik, 1 run
105-4 after 15.5 overs: Haris to Hardik, no run
105-4 after 15.5 overs: Haris to Hardik, 3 wide
102-4 after 15.4 overs: Haris to Kohli, 1 run
101-4 after 15.3 overs: Haris to Kohli, no run
101-4 after 15.2 overs: Haris Rauf to Hardik, 1 run
100-4 after 15.1 overs: Haris to Hardik, no run
Hardik Pandya 32 (25), Virat Kohli 42 (37)
100-4 after 15 overs: Naseem to Hardik, 1 run
99-4 after 14.5 overs: Naseem to Kohli, 1 run
98-4 after 14.4 overs: Naseem to Kohli, FOUR
94-4 after 14.3 overs: Naseem to Hardik, 1 run
93-4 after 14.2 overs: Naseem to Kohli, 1 run
92-4 after 14.1 overs: Naseem to Kohli, 2 runs
Virat Kohli 34 (33), Hardik Pandya 30 (23)
90-4 after 14 overs: Shadab to Kohli, 1 run
89-4 after 13.5 overs: Shadab to Kohli, no run
89-4 after 13.4 overs: Shadab to Hardik, 1 run
88-4 after 13.3 overs: Shadab to Hardik, no run
88-4 after 13.2 overs: Shadab to Kohli, 1 run
87-4 after 13.1 overs: Shadab to Kohli, FOUR
Hardik Pandya 29 (21), Virat Kohli 28 (29)
83-4 after 13 overs: Shaheen to Hardik, no run
83-4 after 12.5 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, 1 run
82-4 after 12.4 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, FOUR
78-4 after 12.3 overs: Shaheen to Hardik, 1 run
77-4 after 12.2 overs: Shaheen to Hardik, 2 runs
75-4 after 12.1 overs: Shaheen to Kohli, 1 run
Hardik Pandya 26 (18), Virat Kohli 22 (26)
74-4 after 12 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, SIX
68-4 after 11.5 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, 1 run
67-4 after 11.4 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, SIX
61-4 after 11.3 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, no run
61-4 after 11.2 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, 1 run
60-4 after 11.1 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, SIX
Virat Kohli 15 (23), Hardik Pandya 13 (15)
First big over for India after a while. Nine off it as Shadab concedes a boundary off the bat of Pandya.
54-4 after 11 overs: Shadab to Kohli, 2 runs
52-4 after 10.5 overs: Shadab to Hardik, 1 run
51-4 after 10.4 overs: Shadab to Kohli, 1 run
50-4 after 10.3 overs: Shadab to Hardik, 1 run
49-4 after 10.2 overs: Shadab to Hardik, FOUR
45-4 after 10.1 overs: Shadab to Hardik, no run
Hardik Pandya 7 (11), Virat Kohli 12 (21)
45-4 after 10 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, 1 run
44-4 after 9.5 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, no run
44-4 after 9.4 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, no run
44-4 after 9.3 overs: Nawaz to Hardik, 2 runs
42-4 after 9.2 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, 1 run
41-4 after 9.1 overs: Nawaz to Kohli, no run
Virat Kohli 11 (19), Hardik Pandya 4 (7)
Another quiet over. Just 3 off it. This is what wickets do. Credit to Shadab too for holding a tight line and not offering anything to Kohli and Pandya.