On Sunday, 23rd October, the Melbourne Cricket Ground put on a spectacle for 90,253 fans as they witnessed a nail-biting encounter between arch-rivals India-Pakistan. The game encapsulated everything that one would expect from this rivalry and will go into books as one of the best matches.
The star for India in this game was a man who thrives under pressure and loves to step up on the big occasion, Virat Kohli. There were questions about his form a few months ago, but he has finally shut down all the critics and shown who he is. His 82* was one of the reasons why India got across the line.
The last over of the game kept everything around the world on the edge of their seats. The first ball saw the dismissal of Hardik Pandya. The equation came down to 13 of 3 balls when Mohammad Nawaz bowled a no-ball dispatched for a six. Nawaz held his nerve and dismissed Dinesh Karthik on the penultimate ball.
Massive credit to R Ashwin for the way he faced those two HUGE balls.
Only he could've stayed that calm for the wide. One of the most "present" cricketers I've ever seen 👏
— Rupin Kale (@Vegansportlover) October 23, 2022
Ravichandran Ashwin came to the increase and left the ball he faced, a wide ball showing his presence of mind. He hit the bowl over the mid-off fielder and got India across the line. In an interview with the BCCI.tv Ashwin said:
“Somebody asked me if that Nawaz ball had turned and hit you on the pads, what would you have done?”
I said I would’ve quickly rushed to the dressing room, picked up my Twitter and said, ‘Thank you for all the great times I have had in my cricketing career. It was a wonderful journey (laughs)’,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
India got a win in their first two encounters, which will give the players confidence to perform well after being unable to qualify for the semi-finals last year.
The Men in Blue will lock horns with South Africa in their third ICC T20 World Cup game in Perth on Sunday, October 30.
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