Player of the Match
Player of the Match

10.30 pm So India beat Pakistan by five wickets and 27 balls to spare. Pakistan were a shambles with the bat, not one redeeming feature about their innings and that is what cost them the game. India's fast bowlers bowled impeccably against a clueless opposition - Bumrah and Pandya in particular.

A chase of 84 should have been a cruise but Mohammad Amir bowled with incredible skill to rout the Indian top order. Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan also bowled with hostility and troubled the batsmen - Yuvraj stayed long enough in the middle for his troubles against high pace to be exposed. Virat Kohli, however, was magnificent. He batted with an assuredness that everyone in the game did not have, and steered India to their small target.

Darshan Shah: "T20 match without any Six. How often you see that!!" This is only the fifth completed T20 international without a six.

Yuvraj Singh: "It was tough, the Pakistan bowlers bowled quick, not easy to bat, Virat batted outstandingly and we bowled really well. It was a situation where you had to fight it out and I was happy to spend some time out there. Hopefully next game I will hit the ball better. I stuck out there and did not give my wicket away."

Ebad: "If Pakistan can fix their batting they can be a monstrous force as their bowling is full of class." A long-standing problem that.

Rohan: "George! You can be a bit more charitable to Yuvi's contribution, he has hardly got to play 20 balls at a stretch since he has been back. And not one mention of the headless display by Raina?" Absolutely headless that was. Not much more to add.

Time for prizes ...

Virat Kohli is the Man of the Match for that 49 on a tough pitch.

Kohli: "It wasn't an easy wicket to bat, I wasn't happy with myself in the last game, where I went too hard at the ball, I had to respect the conditions, I made mistakes in the last innings but I dug in this time ... I would like to congratulate Mohammad Amir for the way he bowled, I actually congratulated him while he was bowling. It was amazing to play such a spell. Counterattacking is the game I play, that's why I bat at no.3 but sometimes you have to respect the conditions and play that way. It is very important to be able to change your shot at the last moment in such conditions ... you need to be switched on mentally, stay calm and relaxed."

Shahid Afridi: "We have played so much cricket, we should have read the pitch, we did not play according to the pitch, if we lose 4-5 batsmen in the first six overs we can't score 140 ... We had to read the situation, Kohli was an example, and Yuvi .... if we had survived the fast bowlers there wasn't much turn on the pitch for their spinners .."

MS Dhoni: "We are a team that loves to play aggressive cricket but this pushes us to respect the conditions which will be good going into the WT20. I'm glad we restricted them to 85 runs, 100 or 110 runs and the game was on. The fast bowlers did well but even after that we took wickets at regular intervals which is crucial to stop runs in this format ... We have to be switched on in the field, that is one department where you can guarantee performance, one run out can take the game away from the opposition."

That's the presentation ceremony done with.

Kamal: "@Ebad, problem is not just batting. Look at the fielding & running b/w deficit between India & Pakistan. Game has changed boss. It is not just centuries & 5ers anymore."

Well it wasn't quite the thriller we were hoping for a few hours ago, but this match did have its moments. Virat Kohli and Mohammad Amir, may they have many such contests in the future. Get it together BCCI and PCB.

Thank you for all your emails today. And thank you for reading. Have a good night. Cheers.

15.3
4
Wahab Riaz to Dhoni, FOUR, that's the victory for India! Dhoni smashes a length ball through cover and picks up a stump as a keepsake, he might not be allowed to keep that, these new LED stumps have to stay
15.2
1lb
Wahab Riaz to Yuvraj Singh, 1 leg bye, played behind square leg for a single
15.1
0
Wahab Riaz to Yuvraj Singh, no run, Yuvraj gets hit on the pad by a good length ball that angles into him, the ball drops at his feet and Yuvraj picks it up immediately and gives it to the bowler. He shouldn't be doing that!

END OF OVER:
15 | 4 Runs 2 Wkts | IND: 80/5 (4 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.33, RRR: 0.80)

  • Yuvraj Singh14 (30b)
  • MS Dhoni3 (2b)
  • Mohammad Sami4-0-16-2
  • Wahab Riaz3-0-27-0

Mohammad: "Have to wonder, had Kholi been out during the 4-7 over period, would this match be different. Anyways, credit to India for the good bowling and Kholi for leading his team while wickets were falling." He did survive one really close lbw shout.

14.6
1
Mohammad Sami to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, Yuvraj moves back and across and works the ball off his hips behind square leg

shyam: "These 2 wickets should highlight the importance of Yuvi's innings, however slow it was.. He did what the situation demanded!"

14.5
3
Mohammad Sami to Dhoni, 3 runs, Dhoni moves back and across and punches the ball towards cover where a mis-field allows three runs
14.4
0
Mohammad Sami to Dhoni, no run, in the blockhole on off stump, Dhoni stays back and plays it to mid off

Ayush: "So in a chase of 84 Kohli still manages to almost score a half century. Classy stuff once again."

Dhoni is the new batsman.

14.3
W
Mohammad Sami to Pandya, OUT, and another one goes! Pandya flashes at a good length ball just outside off and edges straight to first slip, Hafeez juggles the catch not once but twice but holds on in the end!

HH Pandya c Mohammad Hafeez b Mohammad Sami 0 (1m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

14.2
0
Mohammad Sami to Pandya, no run, stays back and plays the ball on the off side

Pandya is the new batsman, ahead of Dhoni.

14.1
W
Mohammad Sami to Kohli, OUT, Kohli's been given lbw and he does not like the decision! Was there an inside edge? He walks off with a wry smile and that's because there was an inside edge. He moved back and across to turn a good length ball through the leg side but was beaten by the nip into him and hit on the front pad. He's played a marvellous innings today, against high quality swing bowling at serious pace.

V Kohli lbw b Mohammad Sami 49 (71m 51b 7x4 0x6) SR: 96.07

END OF OVER:
14 | 7 Runs | IND: 76/3 (8 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 5.42, RRR: 1.33)

  • Yuvraj Singh13 (29b)
  • Virat Kohli49 (50b)
  • Wahab Riaz3-0-27-0
  • Mohammad Irfan4-0-16-0
13.6
0
Wahab Riaz to Yuvraj Singh, no run, banged in short around off stump, Yuvraj fends awkwardly and is beaten
13.5
1
Wahab Riaz to Kohli, 1 run, drops the ball towards point for a single
13.4
4
Wahab Riaz to Kohli, FOUR, another one of those sublime cover drives, Kohli presses forward and drives a length ball through the line, tremendous timing
13.3
1
Wahab Riaz to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, Yuvraj stays back and nudges the ball off his pads towards midwicket
13.2
1
Wahab Riaz to Kohli, 1 run, short of a length with width outside off, Kohli moves forward and towards the off side to play a cracking square drive to deep point
13.1
0
Wahab Riaz to Kohli, no run, good length outside off, Kohli mis-times the drive towards cover

END OF OVER:
13 | 6 Runs | IND: 69/3 (15 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 5.30, RRR: 2.14)

  • Virat Kohli43 (46b)
  • Yuvraj Singh12 (27b)
  • Mohammad Irfan4-0-16-0
  • Mohammad Sami3-0-12-0
12.6
1
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, 1 run, stays back to a length ball and opens the face late to steer to third man

Dharam: "So many Yuvi haters... I wanna know how many did Raina and co score today?" Yuvraj has really hung in there today, showed guts.

12.5
1
Mohammad Irfan to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, good length ball just outside off, Yuvraj stays back and pulls, mis-timing it towards wide long-on
12.5
2nb
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, (no ball) 1 run, good length angling into the right-hander, Kohli steers it off the front foot to third man, it's a no-ball and Kohli has once again given the free-hit to yuvraj
12.4
0
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, no run, good length around off stump, Kohli stays back and defends on the off side
12.3
0
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, no run, banged in short, Kohli lets the bouncer pass
12.2
2
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, 2 runs, short of a length and at the body, Kohli moves across in his crease and tucks the ball through midwicket
12.1
0
Mohammad Irfan to Kohli, no run, Kohli moves forward and towards the off side to counter the angle across him and defends with a straight bat

Kartik: "I am a big fan of Yuvraj but the way he has been playing in last couple of matches, it doesn't bode well for India in a situation when they will need quick runs from him. "

Mohammad Irfan is back ...

END OF OVER:
12 | 5 Runs | IND: 63/3 (21 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 5.25, RRR: 2.62)

  • Yuvraj Singh11 (26b)
  • Virat Kohli39 (40b)
  • Mohammad Sami3-0-12-0
  • Wahab Riaz2-0-20-0
11.6
0
Mohammad Sami to Yuvraj Singh, no run, moves back and plays a punchy drive to a fuller ball towards mid off

Harsha: "I know Yuvi is saving the day for us. However, I guess its time to get Manish Pandey in the squad. Yuvraj is too slow to react to quality fast bowlers now."

11.5
0
Mohammad Sami to Yuvraj Singh, no run, good length angling across the left-hander from over the wicket at 141 kph, Yuvraj wafts at it from his crease and is beaten

Worst start

21

Runs scored by India in the powerplays - lowest for them in T20Is. Their previous lowest was 24 for 4 against Australia, Bridgetown, 2010 World T20.

Gone in no time

0

No. of times India's both the openers got out for ducks in a T20I, before this match. This is the second time Pakistan has got both the openers for ducks.

Not the lowest

2

No. of lower totals for Pakistan than their 83 in this match: 74 vs Australia, Dubai, 2012-13 and 82 vs West Indies, Dhaka, 2014 World T20.

Bowlers dominating

1

No. of times India had taken 6 or more wickets in the first 10 overs, in their first 62 T20Is. They have done it twice in three T20Is now: v SL, Vizag and today.

The break-through man

6

Number of consecutive T20Is where Nehra has picked at least one wicket in the powerplays, including this match.

Upper hand for India

4-1

India's win-loss record against Pakistan in T20Is, in the six encounters before this. One was a tie, which was also won by India in the bowl-out.