Colombo: Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh set it up with a superb display of spin bowling before Virat Kohli took centrestage with an unbeaten 78 as an inspired India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets to keep their title hopes alive in the ICC World Twenty20 here on Sunday.
Ashwin (2/16) and Yuvraj (2/16) snapped up four wickets between them as Pakistan were shot out for a meagre 128 in 19.4 overs. Lakshmipathy Balaji also complemented the ‘spin twins’ with impressive figures of 3/22 in 3.4 overs.
Kohli, who has been Pakistan’s nemesis in the past, hit a scintillating unbeaten 78 off 61 balls as India won with three overs to spare. The Delhi lad hit nine boundaries and two sixes to take the team home in the high-voltage contest watched by a capacity crowd.
However, Pakistan are still ahead in terms of net run rate of -0.426 which is shade better than India’s -0.452. Had India won with 20 balls to spare, they would have been number two in the group.
India will now have to defeat South Africa in their last group match on Tuesday to make it to the semis.
India’s unbeaten record against Pakistan in ICC World Cups has thus been kept intact having beaten them five times in the 50-over version and thrice in the T20 format.
Kohli started with a thickish outside edge off Raza Hasan for a boundary, but then played some lovely strokes.
He also lofted Shahid Afridi over long-off for a six. Whether driving on the up or playing off his hips, Kohli was a treat to watch.
Man-of-the-Match Kohli said that the key for him was to remain calm.
“The key is to stay as calm as possible. In the last game I thought a bit too much. But today I was at my normal self, relaxed and calm. The idea is to play 10-15 overs and the team benefits from it,” he said. “It does not get any better for me than helping India win against Pakistan. It was a high-pressure game.”
Virender Sehwag, on the other hand, was happy to play the second fiddle during the 74-run partnership for the second wicket but did play a lovely lofted shot off Umar Gul’s bowling.
“The team responded well and the bowlers bowled really well to restrict Pakistan to a small total,” Indian skipper MS Dhoni said after the match.
“The part-time bowlers did a very good job and that was crucial as we were playing with seven batsmen,” he said.
“Then Virat played an excellent innings. Viru (Sehwag) also batted well. We lost Gauti (Gambhir) early, that’s was a setback because he can play spin really well,” he added.
A disappointed Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez also praised Kohli for his fine knock on a difficult track.
“It was a difficult pitch to bat on but Kohli was excellent,” he said.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Hafeez said, “We still have a chance. We have to work hard now and come back with some positive energy and win against Australia.” (PTI)