Yet Another Masterclass!!

This World T20 is setting up contests like no other. The epic clashes, the challenges and that feeling of glory after you have taken the team past the line is being seen more in this World T20 than perhaps very few world events in the past.
Particularly, India is throwing up surprises and contests like no other. And the latest addition to this flurry of matches was the symbolic quarterfinal against Australia played at Mohali.
First off, this was the first time in this tournament that India were playing on a batsman-friendly wicket. Not that this was a challenge, though. The batsmen who were out of form had a quality opportunity here to get their stream of form up and running. In a way, it was a win-win situation for the both the teams.

The Early Shivers
Australia chose to bat first after winning the toss. The openers Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch absolutely smashed the Indian bowlers Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah. Even Ashwin, Dhoni’s go-to man in these tense situations, went for 22 runs off his first over. As a result, India were hammered for 59 runs off the first 6 Powerplay overs. It looked as if Australia would trot to 200 runs, but it was not to be.

A Brave Fightback
The Indian bowlers backed up their abilities to restrict Australia to a score of 160, which means India gave away only 101 runs in the 14 overs remaining after the Powerplay. Though, Australia had some consolation in the fact that they had achieved the par score of 160 on a tricky pitch.

Again, Some Early Jitters
Now it was India’s turn to bat. The Indian opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan failed yet again despite playing on a pitch that was helpful to them. Suresh Raina, too got out very early, edging one to the wicket keeper off a Shane Watson delivery. On the crease were Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli. Yuvraj Singh, though after some time, twisted his ankle and was hopping. In spite of this, he showed great character and determination by continuing playing. Though, he got out after scoring 21, holing one to Watson off Faulkner. It was a very tense situation, both for the entire nation and its only hope, the pair of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Here Starts the Master ClassVirat Kohli got an able partner in MS Dhoni, taking quick singles and doubles, a thing that he wasn’t able to do with Yuvraj Singh due to his unfortunate injury. Anyways, this partnership slowly steadied the sinking Indian ship.

The Last Few Overs
The figure came up to 47 off 4 overs. Veteran Shane Watson bowled the 17th over, giving away just 8 runs. Here, the ‘just’ is only in accordance with the situation of the match. Moving on, 39 need of 3 overs. This James Faulkner over is where Virat Kohli showed his true class, hitting Faulkner for a massive 19 runs off that over. Perhaps his fast friendship and frequent discussions with Chris Gayle in the IPL helped. Now the figure came down to 20 runs off the last 2 overs. Still quite a difficult figure to achieve. Here, too, Kohli was the savior, hitting Nathan Coulter-Nile for another 16. He practically handed over the winning runs over to his captain in the last over. Dhoni, being the quintessential finisher that he is, finished off the match with a four, not a six, for a change. Virat Kohli was undoubtedly the Man of the Match for his brilliant, match-winning, amazing, fabulous, fantastic, stunning, breathtaking, dazzling……. (I’m at a loss for words) 82 off just 51 balls.

To be frank, I had goosebumps after the match got over. I had gone cold all over. That was the amount of high-level cricket that had been displayed in front of my eyes.

The Future Is Near
Now India face the West Indies in the semifinal, to be held on the 30th of March. I certainly do hope that India make it into the final and consequently win the title too. I wish Team India all the best!!