KOLKATA (Staff Report) – India defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets in the crucial match of the World Twenty20 Super Ten Group Two at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
India captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl against Pakistan.
Pakistan secured 118 runs for five wickets as the match was reduced to 18 overs each side because the match was delayed due to rain.
“The pitch has been under the covers for quite some time. It was better to bowl first,” Dhoni said.
Pakistan openers Ahmed Shehzad and Sharjeel Khan made a cautious start but as soon they began to speed up the score they lost their wickets.
Pakistan reached 50 in the tenth over after losing both the openers. Sharjeel for 17 and Shehzad for 25.
Then came in captain Shahid Afridi, promoting himself at number three but he could make only eight facing 14 balls.
However, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik made some recovery adding 40 runs off 24 balls and Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark in the 16th over. But both departed in the span of just four runs. Akmla made 22 and Malik scored 26. Both hit a six each, the only two sixes in the Pakistan innings.
Later, Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez tried to accelerate the score but could finish it at 118-5.
Kohli hit an unbeaten 55 as India comfortably chased down Pakistan’s total of 118 for five, reaching their target with 13 balls remaining.
Related: Click Here For Live Streaming
Daily Pakistan Global Live Scorecard:
India Squad:
MS Dhoni (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh
Pakistan Squad:
Shahid Afridi (c), Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Babr Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khalid Lateef, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Ahmad Shehzad, Mohammad Sami
The Super 10 round comprises of 18 games, where two groups of fives teams each will fight each other to qualify for semifinals. Top two teams from both groups will make it to semifinals. The round will conclude on March 28.
New Delhi and Mumbai will host the semi-finals on 30 and 31 March, respectively, while Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be the venue of the 3 April finals. The women’s semi-finals and final will be followed by the men’s knock-out matches. There is a reserve day for the finals.
Earlier Bangladesh and Afghanistan qualified for the Super 10 round, remaining top teams of two groups in the qualifying round.
Pakistan at WT20:
Pakistan will play one of Bangladesh and Oman on March 16 in the first of its Super 10 match. On March 19, Green Shirts will face off arch rival India at Kolkata’s Eden Garden stadium. It will play against New Zealand and Australia on March 22 and March 25 respectively.
Prize for WT20 Winners:
The men’s event will carry a total prize money of $5.6million, which is an 86 per cent increase from the 2014 tournament, while the total prize money for the women’s event is $400,000, which is a 122 per cent increase from the Bangladesh event.
World T20 Schedule and Venues:
