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Virat Kohli’s superlative 82 not out off 53 with six fours and four sixes took India to a famous last-ball four-wicket victory over Pakistan in an ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 game in front of 90,000-plus spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday (October 23).
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Earlier, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya were the bowling heroes as India kept taking wickets and put a lid on Pakistan’s scoring.
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In his World Cup debut, left-arm seamer Arshdeep took 3/32 in 4 overs. Hardik returned with figures of 3/30 in his full quota. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had one wicket apiece. Pakistan finished with 159/8 in 20 overs.
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India had a superb start with Arshdeep sending back both openers Babar Azam (0) and Mohammad Rizwan (4) early in swinging conditions. From 15/2 in 4 overs, Pakistan relied on Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed to rebuild the innings.
Pakistan, from 90/2 in the 13th overs, lost 3 wickets for 7 runs as India again put the brakes on the scoring. Towards the end, with Shaheen Afridi’s 8-ball 16, Pakistan managed to cross the 150-run mark.