What a day! What a match! Honestly, there are no words in the dictionary to express the emotions that Indian fans went through during the game between India and Pakistan tonight. In a nail-biting thriller, India held its nerves and won the match by four wickets and that too on the last ball.
While batting first, Pakistan lost its openers very early into the game. Arshdeep Singh scalped both their wickets. That’s when Shaan Masood (52*) and Ifthikar Ahmed (54) made a partnership of 76 runs and saved Pakistan. When Ifthikar scored a half-century, Shami got his wicket and brought back the game in India’s favour. All of a sudden, Pakistan’s score fell from 91/2 to 120/7. Hardik Pandya dismantled the middle order with his stunning spell. Shaheen Afridi’s (16 from 8 balls) little cameo, in the end, helped Pak in scoring 159/8 in 20 overs. Both Arshdeep (3/32) and Hardik (3/30) scalped three wickets each.
Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma fell cheaply while chasing this total. Surya Kumar Yadav also went back to the pavilion right when he got into the groove. Axar Patel got run out due to a miscommunication. That’s when Hardik Pandya (40) and Virat Kohli (82* off 53 balls) made a partnership of 118 runs and brought back India into the game. They brought life into the lifeless chase. Especially, Kohli played once in a lifetime innings and saved India once again. In the last over, India needed 16 runs and they scored successfully in the full quota of 20 overs.
This will go down as one of the best T20 matches not only between India and Pakistan but in the history of the format. If you missed the match, you missed a lifetime experience.
