Four years on: Kohli's 82* at the MCG, India's greatest win over Pakistan
Four years have passed since 23 October 2022, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground night when India beat Pakistan in the T20 World Cup still has its place in India's cricket memory. India chased 160 and won by four wickets off the final ball. The man of the match was Virat Kohli, who finished unbeaten on 82 off 53 deliveries in front of more than 90,000 spectators.
The match carried extra weight because of recent history. India had lost to Pakistan by ten wickets at the previous year's World Cup in the UAE. At Melbourne they began a campaign in a tough Group 2 that also had Bangladesh, South Africa and the Netherlands and Zimbabwe. Only the top two sides would reach the semi-finals, so an opening defeat would have hurt badly.
Pakistan batted first and made 159 for 8. Shan Masood scored an unbeaten 52 and Iftikhar Ahmed added 51, which pushed the total past what the early overs had promised on a pitch that helped the quicks. India's bowling answered with a split of the wickets. Arshdeep Singh took 3 for 32 and Hardik Pandya took 3 for 30. Both bowled in the death overs, and Pakistan did not get the finish they wanted.
The chase then looked like it was slipping away. Pakistan's new-ball bowlers removed KL Rahul and captain Rohit Sharma cheaply, and Rohit was caught at slip. Suryakumar Yadav lasted only eight balls, and Axar Patel was run out. India were 31 for 4 inside the first seven overs, and the crowd had turned noisily towards Pakistan.
Kohli's response was patient. He started slowly, with Pandya batting alongside him, and the pair chose singles and twos over risk for a long stretch. They scored few boundaries through the middle overs, but the partnership held. It eventually grew into a century stand. Pandya made 40 off 37 balls before falling in the final over.
The acceleration began when the pair hit Mohammad Nawaz for three sixes in one over. Even so, India still needed 28 off the last eight balls as Haris Rauf came back for the 19th over. Kohli then hit two sixes off him, one of them a back-foot shot over long-on that many still regard as the best of the tournament. The target dropped to 16 off the last over, and Nawaz had to bowl it.
That over was chaotic. Pandya was out to the first ball. Kohli hit the fourth for six, but it was called a no-ball because it was above waist height, and Nawaz also bowled a wide. Kohli was then bowled on the free hit, but the ball ran away off the stumps and India took three byes. Dinesh Karthik was stumped, and another wide made the scores level with one ball left. Ravichandran Ashwin stayed calm, left a wide alone and lofted the winning single over mid-off.
The numbers show how much Kohli carried. Rauf finished with 2 for 36 and Nawaz with 2 for 42, so Pakistan's bowling did enough to win most of the game. They lost it in the last two overs. Kohli took India from 48 needed off the last 18 balls to 16 needed off the last 6.
The result also had a lasting effect on how the format is viewed in India. The country has played Pakistan only in multi-team tournaments for years, so each meeting comes with high stakes. This innings showed the value of a top-order batter who can stay in the contest and then accelerate in the last few overs. The same idea still shapes how India build T20 chases. Rohit later called it one of India's best knocks.
The innings also reminded the team that a bad start is not decisive if one batter stays in and a second partner holds up the other end. Pandya's role was as important as Kohli's, as the two stayed together long enough to bring the required rate within reach.