Kohli floors Pakistan at Eden Gardens

By our correspondents

March 20, 2016

KOLKATA: Remember what Javed Miandad did for Pakistan back in the eighties? Remember that last-ball six in Sharjah which helped Pakistan make India their bunnies for several years?

Virat Kohli is doing for India now what Miandad did for Pakistan then.

He has, more often than not, cowed Pakistan into submission.

Each time Pakistan are looking to floor the Indians, Kohli comes in the picture and knock out Pakistan.

He knocked them down again in front of more than 60,000 boisterous fans at Eden Gardens on Saturday and in the process put India’s shaky World Twenty20 campaign back on track. He also made sure that Pakistan will continue to wait for an elusive victory against their arch-rivals in a World Cup game. His unbeaten 55 off 37 balls on a tricky wicket shepherded India to a convincing six-wicket win with 13 balls to spare in a rain-shortened game.

When the curtains fell on the high-voltage game with MS Dhoni pulling a short one from Mohammad Irfan for a single it was hard to imagine that one stage India were gasping for air in their chase of 119 on a turning wicket.

The Indians had slumped to 23-3 in the fifth over before Kohli and Yuvraj Singh resurrected the innings.

At various stages on Super Saturday, it appeared as if the biggest party to come to Kolkata in a long, long time would be a non-starter. Fortunately, the rain which made an unwelcome appearance some two and a half hours before the scheduled start relented enough to facilitate an 18-over India-Pakistan shootout at the Eden Gardens.

India’s worst fears seemed to be coming true when Mohammad Sami, a late inclusion, ripped out Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in the space of two deliveries to leave India floundering on 23 for 3 while chasing Pakistan’s 118 for 5. However, there was no repeat of the Nagpur debacle, not with the master of the chase taking it upon himself to get the job done.

Batting as if on a surface completely removed from the actual one, Kohli produced perhaps the most satisfying of his nine half-centuries in a Twenty20 International chase, a truly sparkling crown full of the most glittering gems to steer India to 119 for 4, the six-wicket victory with 13 deliveries to spare extending India’s dominance over Pakistan in World Cup play and ending their Eden jinx against their perennial foes.

In his conquest of Pakistan, Kohli was aided in no small measure by Yuvraj. Like in the Asia Cup match in Mirpur when India was reduced to 9 for 3 chasing 84, Yuvraj was an able ally but this time played his part too in a fourth-wicket stand of 61 off just 44 deliveries, the difference in the end alongside Kohli’s magnificent unbeaten 55.

Pakistan, put into bat, found the going difficult, especially against India’s slow bowlers as they scored 118-5.

Openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) were subdued by the Indian bowlers and Shahid Afridi could not justify his promotion to number three.

Shoaib Malik (26) and Umar Akmal (22) added 41 runs in four overs to take Pakistan past the 100-mark to ensure their pace-heavy attack had something to defend.

The match between the winners of the first two editions of the tournament was originally scheduled in the picturesque north Indian city of Dharamsala before Pakistan’s security fears led to it being moved to Kolkata.

Score Board

India won toss

Pakistan

Sharjeel Khan c Pandya b Raina 17

Ahmed Shehzad c Jadeja b Bumrah 25

*Shahid Afridi c Kohli b Pandya 8

Umar Akmal c Dhoni b Jadeja 22

Shoaib Malik c Ashwin b Nehra 26

†Sarfraz Ahmed not out 8

M Hafeez not out 5

Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 1, nb 1) 7

Total (5 wickets; 18 overs) 118