India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022 Highlights: Epic Virat Kohli innings leads IND to 4-wicket win in nail-biter

Well a brilliant catch is what it seemed at the time but replays show that the ball hat hit the ground first. Masood pulls a bouncer from Shami, Ashwin comes running in from fine leg and puts in a dive. India celebrate, Masood stands his ground and the umpires send it upstairs with a soft signal of out. However, the third umpire found enough reason to reverse that, don't see that often. But it was arguably the right decision, Masood survives. 

145kph bouncer from Pandya, Masood goes for a pull and can only top edge it. But there is no fielder in the fine leg area now so that goes for a boundary. Masood on 24 off 20 and Pakistan desperately need him to hold on. That might just be the fastest ball of the match. 

Hardik Pandya bowling the seventh over and he does brilliantly off the fourth ball to collect the ball and hit the stumps at the striker's end. Masood tries to tuck it away fine, ends up hitting the ball forward and there are no fielders close in so sets off for the run. Pandya is swift as lighting as he gets to the ball and smashes the stumps with it. Replays, however, show that Masood got back in time. 

That Shami over went for eight runs and the batters weren't too threatened through the course of it. But this has very much been India's powerplay. Pakistan going at a run rate of 5.33 at the moment. 

Shami sends it wide outside off and Masood nails the back cut. The ball doesn't really have any opposition as it runs away to the boundary, good placement of the shot. 

Mohammed Shami bowls his first over in T20I cricket since the last T20 World Cup. He came in as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, is probably the most experienced bowler in this lineup in international cricket overall, and he can have at a batting lineup that is not too used to a situation where neither Rizwan nor Babar are around before even the powerplay ends. 

Iftikhar hits a tennis forehand-style shot to send Bhuvneshwar to the mid-on boundary. Goodish over at last for Pakistan, nine has come off it and they are 24/2 after five overs. 

This is champagne stuff from Arshdeep. First real bouncer he has gone for, bangs it in short, Rizwan tries to pull but only gets a top edge to fine leg. 

Rizwan c Bhuvneshwar b Arshdeep 4 (12), Pakistan 15/2 in 4 overs

Rizwan chips one up off Arshdeep off the fifth ball of the third over, Kohli comes running in, puts in the dive but it falls just short of him. 

Much needed for Pakistan. Arshdeep angling it into Masood and the batter cashes in on this easy one. Clips it away for his first boundary. 

Pakistan 7/1 in 2.2 overs. Bhuvneshwar is making that white cherry swing around corners. He cut Masood in half with the second delivery and then swings it into the left hander with an almost pin-point yorker. Absolutely sensational stuff from India's opening bowlers. 

By Virat Kohli of all people, India's best fielder with Ravindra Jadeja not being around. Shan Masood, who is playing by the way, having recovered from that injury, goes for a single that is simply not there. Kohli collects the ball and had an easy direct hit there, Masood was gone even if the former India's skipper ran to the stumps with the ball. But Kohli throughs under armed and misses. 

How about it. Arshdeep Singh's first ball in any kind of World Cup and he gets Babar Azam with it. 

Babar Azam lbw b Arshdeep Singh 0 (1), Pakistan 1/1 in 1.1 overs

LBW appeal from Arshdeep first ball, Babar looked plumb and umpire has given it. Babar takes the DRS. 

Just one run from it, that too because of a wide that Dinesh Karthik did well to hold on to and not go for more. Brilliant start for India. 

Rizwan is in some pain after the second ball. He leaves the first ball that goes away from him, the second one then rushes on to him and raps him on the gloves. Immediately puts down his bats, removes his right glove and rubs the hand on the ground. The physio is out. He is the wicketkeeper as well so not a pretty sight for Pakistan. 

Mohammad Rizwan facing up, Babar Azam at the other end for Pakistan. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball in his hands for India. Here we go then!

Rohit Sharma closes his eyes and smiles and grimaces as the Indian fans blare out the last part of the national anthem. The noise must be painful and magical at the same time and the Indian captain seemed to feel it all. He had a smile on his face throughout the time that the national anthem was being played. 

Up first is Pakistan's ‘Qaumi Taranah’ and that is followed up by India's ‘Jana Gana Mana’. The two teams are standing shoulder to shoulder with their flags unfurled behind them alongwith the banner of the T20 World Cup. Soak it all in.  

The MCG is a sight to behold as the officials lead the players out with their mascot kids for the national anthems. This is a festival of cricket allright, the T20 World Cup is well and truly here.  

“Have many fond memories here, I made my T20I debut in Australia, and from there the journey has continued. It's good to be back here, you can't get a better place to play sport and enjoy. The body is fine, I think you should put that topic about my body on rest, you will see me bowling. We are playing international cricket, it's not only about Pakistan bowlers. Any team which is playing will have quality bowing at this level, international cricket has certain standards. So we all are aware about it and as a batting unit we have had a word about it. We have worked very hard to come here. The team that plays well, wins the contest.”

Just keep the conversations about whether he deserves to play ahead of Rishabh Pant to one side and consider this. DK had become such an important part of the Sky commentary team last year during India's tour of England that many had started to think that he has retired from the sport. He was quite far away from even being considered for India selection. Then came his almost bizarrely good performances for RCB in IPL 2022 down the order and now, the man who made his international debut all the way back in September 2004, might just become the team's X-factor in an ICC tournament being played in 2022 in a format that was not even around when he had started out. Extraordinary. 

Rizwan is the top-ranked T20I batter in the world at the moment, Suryakumar is second. Both players approach innings in contrasting fashions. Rizwan is conservative at best, some may say a bit too slow for his own good many a times. SKY, on the other hand, likes to go bang bang from the beginning and has succeeded with that approach more often than not this year. 

The all-rounder says that questions over his fitness should now be put to rest. As stated before, he had that strapping on his right knee but it seems that is not a problem at all for him. It seems the strapping and slight limp was because he had inside-edged a Shardul Thakur delivery on to his knee right at the end of yesterday's nets.

Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah