India defeats Pakistan in thrilling T20 World Cup match

Kohli and Pandya star in India's victory

Melbourne, Australia - Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya played sensational innings as India pulled off a remarkable four-wicket win against Pakistan in a thrilling Super 12 match at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Sunday.

India's chase

Chasing Pakistan's competitive total of 159, India's openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul got off to a solid start, but both fell cheaply to leave India in a spot of bother. However, Kohli and Pandya steadied the ship with a magnificent partnership of 113 runs for the third wicket.

Kohli played a masterful innings, scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, while Pandya provided the firepower with a quickfire 40 off 37 balls. Their partnership put India in a commanding position, and despite losing a few wickets in the end, India managed to cross the line with two balls to spare.

Pakistan's innings

Earlier, Pakistan's batters had put up a competitive total on the board thanks to a fine innings from Shan Masood, who scored 52 runs off 42 balls. Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan also chipped in with valuable contributions.

India's bowlers did a good job to restrict Pakistan to a manageable score, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh picking up two wickets each.

Significance of the victory

India's victory is a major boost to their hopes of reaching the semifinals of the T20 World Cup. It also avenges their defeat to Pakistan in the group stage of the 2021 edition of the tournament.

The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the atmosphere was electric. The fans witnessed a memorable match that will go down in the annals of India-Pakistan cricket rivalry.