Pakistan Hoodoo Continues; MS Dhoni’s Men Back in World T20 2016

By: Drcricket7 Staff

Thanks to Virat Kohli, who once again made an everlasting impression on his team in a big match. Just when India needed a win against Pakistan to fancy their chances for the World T20 2016, the Delhi dasher wielded another willow magic.

Like he did against the arch-rivals a few week ago during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, Kohli compiled an outstanding 37-ball 55 and helped India to romp home against Pakistan by six wickets on Saturday night in Kolkata.

In front of a full-house Eden Gardens, Kohli was also instrumental in building a match-winning partnership of 61 for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (24 off 23 deliveries) while chasing a winning target of 119 off 18 overs. But India rounded up the match with 13 balls to spare.

Pakistan were in the game on two occasions – when Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik added 41 runs from 24 balls and when India were reduced to 23 for three in the fifth over during their chase. Otherwise, the hosts took a good control of the centre-stage.

Earlier, India captain MS Dhoni won the most important toss and opted to bat on a wicket which started turning from the second over of the match.

Without worrying much about how the ticket would play in the second essay of the match, the bowlers kept one basic thing intact and that was to bowl according to the field.

This approach yielded good results as most of the Pakistan batsmen got their starts but none of them could convert them into a big one like Kohli.

India team management also need to be complimented for backing Yuvraj’s ability to play crucial knocks during big matches.

He came into the crease just when experienced Pakistan pacer Mohammad Sami was on a hat-trick. Like always, the Punjab southpaw used all his experience to keep the Pakistan bowlers at bay.

Towards the end, it was again Dhoni who whacked a trademark six off Mohammad Irfan before hitting the winning stroke. It was all over.

The celebrities were seen waving the national flag from the club house balconies and the entire nation burst into a celebration mode. Some of the fans even celebrated the win by bursting crackers. In fact, the celebration has just begun!