What a day. What a night. What a match, what a contest, what an experience. Thanks for your company along the way, and thanks to Simon Burnton and Mike Hytner for their help with the coverage. This year’s World Cup will remain memorable forever on the basis of this match, whatever else happens.
Plenty more games to come, we’ll see you there.
What a game to get to commentate. An unbelievable run chase with the twists and turns late in the innings.
— Andrew Kirkby (@OscailEnergy) October 23, 2022
“You were quite right about it being even at the 6th over,” writes Dean Kinsella, who doubted me earlier. “Though it really shouldn’t have been. Seriously splendid knock from Kohli.”
The good thing about making cricket predictions, Dean, is that if we make enough of them we can occasionally be right and look clever.
“I have no voice left,” says Rohit. “ No matter what situation, you’ve got to believe you can pull through, and that partnership changed the game for us.
“We knew it would not be an easy target on that pitch. We knew we would have to bat out of our skins. Virat and Hardik are experienced guys. Staying calm and taking it as deep as possible was critical, and they did that.
“The way we won is more pleasing for us, the way we came back. Hats off to Virat. It has to be not one of his best, but the best innings he has played for India.”
Babar is very gracious. “We started well in our bowling, and then all credit to Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. They shifted the momentum and finished the game well.
“We had a chance, and we asked the boys to believe in themselves, but again credit to Virat Kohli. We needed a wicket, that’s why we utilised our main bowlers.
“A lot of positives. The way Iftikhar played, the way Shan played and finished the innings was good for us.”
Kohli as he takes his award: “It’s a surreal atmosphere. I honestly have no words, I have no idea how that happened.
"Hardik kept telling me to believe we can stay till the end. I’m lost for words. When Shaheen bowled from the pavilion end, I told Hardik we have to take him down. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. Instinctively I saw it, told myself to stay still. The one at long-on was unexpected, back of a length slower ball. The fine leg one, I just threw my bat at it.”
He addresses the crowd: “All these months when I was struggling, you guys kept me going. Thank you so much.”
“Wait, if you’re bowled off a no ball the ball isn’t dead?!”
Mark Hooper, that’s what the Pakistanis thought. The ball is dead off the stumps when a player is out. But if it’s a free hit, then the stumps are just another deflection, same as if a run-out attempt hits them.
20th over: India 160-6 (Kohli 82, Ashwin 1) So Ashwin only gets credited with 1 run in the end, because they had crossed before it hit the rope. But I doubt that he cares. Kohli’s 82 not out can sit with his 82 not out against Australia and his 89 not out against West Indies, both in this tournament in 2016. He is predictably the player of the match.
Here’s a stat: that’s the equal biggest chase from the last three overs in a World Cup, matching that famous game when Mike Hussey did the same thing to Pakistan in the Caribbean in 2010.
What a show. It started with India’s opening quicks, bowling like it was the opening morning of a Test series under leaden skies. Pace, bounce, movement, threat. Pakistan were becalmed, then Masood’s calmness and Iftikhar’s bravery got them moving. They finished strongly, then started with the ball just as well as India had.
Then their spinners arrived and choked the innings. Kohli was going nowhere. Pandya couldn’t moved. But they hung in, and waited, and finally got their rhythm. Never entirely, but often enough, the found the boundaries and stayed in touch. Still, needing 48 from 3 overs, the match should have been Pakistan’s.
Don’t blame it all on Nawaz. Shaheen got belted in his final over. Rauf the same from his final two balls. And that left Nawaz with a tricky number of runs to defend. In part he couldn’t handle the pressure, bowling a no-ball and two wides. But he equally beat Kohli in the air to hit his stumps, and dismissed Dinesh Karthik with the game on the line, and the bad luck of the ricochet costing Pakistan extra runs may well have been the difference in the end.
One of those finishes that we will dissect and debate, no doubt, but it was something special to sit here and watch it, and special to hear this mammoth crowd following every twist and turn.
India win by 4 wickets, with 0 balls to spare
It is rare and it is special for a huge occasion to live up to the hype. So many India-Pakistan matches have ended in large margins and anticlimax. Tonight was anything but, a spectacle that lived up to the occasion, and lived up to the crowd of 90,293 in this mighty ground.
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20th over, 6th ball: Ashwin hits it down the ground for four! Gets under it, over mid-off. For a second it looks like a catch may be coming, but he gets the elevation. Truly wild scenes here at the ground, as he sprints off on a tearing run halfway to the midwicket boundary.
20th over, 6th ball: Wide! Fired in at the heels of Ashwin, but it strays, and Ashwin sways out of the way to boot. Scores level!
One ball to come, 2 runs needed, Ashwin on strike.
WICKET! Karthik st Rizwan b Nawaz 1, India 158-6
20th over, 5th ball: Karthik on strike. Only a wicket can save Pakistan. And they get it! Sweep shot, misses, off the pad, drags his back foot out as he turns around, losing balance, and Rizwan grabs the ball off the ground and demolishes the sticks while Karthik is spinning. Unbelievable.
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20th over, 4th ball: Kohli is bowled! But he’s not out. Free hit, and the ball ricochets off the stumps. I’m pretty sure that Nawaz started celebrating. Not out, buddy. In the confusion, the ball runs to deep third, and they run three. India need 2 from 2.
20th over, 4th ball: A wide. Nawaz is losing it under pressure. 5 from 3, with a free hit still remaining.
20th over, 4th ball: Full toss! High, and hit for six! Kohli sends it miles over backward square leg. And it’s a no-ball! A no-ball for height. Huge pow-wow between umpires and players. And that’s not a no-ball either. Kohli has moved out of his crease and it’s barely waist height even then, on the reply. 6 needed from 3 balls.
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20th over, 3rd ball: Kohli drives hard down the ground. Beats the bowler, Karthik turns for the second and dives in to make his ground. Great running, but only two runs. 13 from 3 needed.
20th over, 2nd ball: Dinesh Karthik to the middle. Tries a big mow down the ground, lands it in front of long-on. 15 from 4 balls needed.
WICKET! Pandya c Babar b Nawaz 40, India 144-5
Another twist! Another turn! Mohammad Nawaz has to bowl the 20th over, after being hit for three sixes in his third over. He was dragged but now his back. And he beats Pandya in the air. Pandya, a renowned hitter of spin, goes across the line, slog sweep, but toes it straight up in the air. Babar Azam at cover takes the catch.
19th over: India 144-4 (Virat 74, Hardik 40) Haris Rauf to bowl the 19th over. He has 2 for 22 from his three so far. He starts well, as Pandya and Kohli both find outfield sweepers. Rauf keeps bowling bouncers. Pandya swings and misses one, then cloughs another for a single. But Rauf goes a bit fuller to Kohli, and Kohli drives him for six!
Unbelievable shot! In the circumstances. That wasn’t a full ball. It was on a length. Kohli drives that on the up, off that length, and gets enough to send it the full journey.
One ball to come… and he scores six more! On the leg stump, Kohli moves inside it and lifts it away, such clean contact, such incredible timing, to flick over fine leg, soaring high into the air, up and up, and eventually coming down in the stands.
18th over: India 129-4 (Virat 57, Hardik 38) Shaheen Shah Afridi returns for his final over. This is interesting. Haris Rauf only has one left. The missing over belonged to Mohammad Nawaz, the spinner who was thumped out of the attack before. Will he bowl the 20th, with the hope that India will need too many from it? I wouldn’t want to be bowling to Pandya in that position.
First ball of the over, Kohli goes back and cracks Shaheen away, flat and long… and just four. Six on any other ground in the world. Just inside the rope. Raises his fifty from 43 balls.
A wide, a brace, then Kohli backs away to make room to a full delivery and drives it inside out over cover for four! Gorgeous shot.
Single, single, then Kohli steps across, gets inside the line, and helps the pull shot away fine for four more! No need for giant sixes, he’s got 17 from the over and kept India in it. 31 needed from 12 balls. But an over must be bowled by either the spinner Nawaz or a part-timer.
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17th over: India 112-4 (Virat 46, Hardik 37) Naseem Shah to continue, the young quick, bowling short. Kohli tee-balls one such delivery over cover for two, as the ball plugs. He misses out on the next attempt, and from the third ball can only squeeze it to midwicket for one. Indian faces in the crowd growing glum as Hardik squeezes out a ball to the off side but can’t score. Slower ball bouncer to finish the set, and Hardik can’t get power on it as he slugs to midwicket for two, Kohli running back as sharply as ever to make that possible.
48 in 18 balls.
Robert Lewis would like to send a cheerio to his son Josh. “He emigrated to Australia a year ago, and has now stated that his second team is Australia... Well, I’ll forgive him that, Anyhow, he’s a teacher and part-time cricketer and umpire. He has risen up the ranks of umpiring rapidly over there, and might be standing for the likes of Chris Gayle soon. The last FOUR weekends have been rained off - bloody Melbourne weather - but he’s having a great time of it right now, in a crowd of mixed Indian and Pakistani supporters. Great atmosphere!”
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16th over: India 106-4 (Virat 43, Hardik 34) Wides! Not quite five of them, Rizwan gets a touch on the ball from Haris Rauf and takes pace off it, saves two extras. Aside from that though, Haris is bowling straight and bowling gas. A couple of deliveries go straight through untouched. The batters stumble upon a couple of singles, without knowing too much about it. That is some over.
India need 54 runs from 24 balls.
15th over: India 100-4 (Virat 42, Hardik 32) Kohli getting into his groove here. Finds the gap at midwicket to race back for two, then advances to clip a shot so far behind square that it beats short fine leg and races for four. That’s some shot to play while on the move. Naseem Shah is bowling back of a length, trying to make Kohli hit to the long square sides of the ground, but Kohli still finds a way through.
The hundred is up, they need 60 from 30 balls.
14th over: India 90-4 (Kohli 34, Pandya 30) Kohli keeps Indian momentum going as he cuts Shadab to the boundary ropes on the first ball of this over, but that’s the best the batting side can offer. Just three other singles added to the total. Seven off the over and India now require 70 runs from 36 balls. Geoff’s back in the hot seat from here on in.
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13th over: India 83-4 (Kohli 28, Pandya 29) Pace is brought back into the attack with Shaheen handed the ball. One, two, one before the 50 partnership is brought up by Virat as he just uses the pace of the delivery to flick off his legs for four. Shaheen bowls a beauty to end the over, right on the toes of Hardik.
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12th over: India 74-4 (Kohli 22, Pandya 26) Here we go. Hardik pumps Nawaz over mid-wicket for the first Indian six of the evening. Moments later, it’s a muted appeal, but Pakistan then go upstairs for what they think could be a caught behind. Ultra-edge proves there’s no bat involved and Virat - who looked comfortable throughout all that - survives. Next ball he whacks Nawaz for the second six of the over, dancing down the pitch and connecting perfectly to send the ball sailing back over the bowler’s head and into the MCG stands. And for good measure Hardik then sends the final ball of the over over the ropes too! THREE SIXES OFF THE OVER!
India need 86 runs from 48 balls now.
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11th over: India 54-4 (Kohli 15, Pandya 13) Hardik looks to late cut Shadab but it finds the man at point. But then finally some cheer for the Indian fans inside the MCG as he drives back past the bowler for a rare boundary. Shadab throws down a couple of loose ones, but they only result in singles before Virat ends a relatively successful over for India with a firm drive through deep mid-wicket that is stopped on the boundary. Just two but a decent over for India.
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10th over: India 45-4 (Kohli 12, Pandya 7) India are again unable to make any huge inroads, although Hardik places the third ball beautifully on the third ball of this over - just in front of square on the leg side - and they manage to run two. Otherwise, it’s tight again from Nawaz, four off the over. And we’re at the halfway point.
India need 115 runs from 60 balls. 11.5 runs needed per over.
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9th over: India 41-4 (Kohli 11, Pandya 4) More singles as Virat goes straight before Hardik leans back and punches through the covers. But this is excellent from Shadab, who limits India to just one further single this over.
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8th over: India 38-4 (Kohli 9, Pandya 3) Kohli and Hardik keep the scoreboard ticking over, but it’s a tight over from Nawaz - five singles off it, but crucially nothing more than that. The required run rate is now up to 10.
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7th over: India 33-4 (Kohli 6, Pandya 1) Unlike Geoff and Simon, I am not at the MCG, but the incredible atmosphere is easily filtering down the television feed. Looks and sounds incredible. The volume seems to have turned up to 11 after that run out. Hardik Pandya strides to the crease to join Kohli before Shadab completes a big over for Pakistan, just two off it and that wicket.
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WICKET! Axar Patel run out 2, India 31-4
The pinch-hitter doesn’t work. Turns a ball to midwicket, sets off, sent back, and Rizwan fumbles the throw over the stumps but it bounces off his gloves and into the timber. Out.
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6th over: India 31-3 (Kohli 5, Axar 2) A pinch-hitter? Axar Patel up the order, as the Powerplay ends with this game very even.
I’m off for a minute, Mike Hytner will keep you company until then.
WICKET! Suryakumar c Rizwan b Rauf 15, India 26-3
Fast and furious does it again! Rauf bowls a snorter, lifting at SKY, and he can only glove it high over Rizwan’s head. The keeper climbs and catches.
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5th over: India 22-2 (Kohli 3, Suryakumar 11) Naseem Shah returns, having changed to the Shane Warne End, and SKY keeps using the deep poclets of the ground, finding another three runs on the flick square of the wicket. Kohli glides a single, SKY does the same.
India need 138 in 90 balls.
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4th over: India 17-2 (Kohli 2, Suryakumar 7) No loss of tempo for India, as Suryakumar Yadav walks and plays a lovely straight drive for four. Follows it up through extra cover for three. That’s some start.
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WICKET! Rohit c Iftikhar b Haris 4, India 10-2
Another one! The bowling change does it, Haris Rauf’s serious pace drawing an edge that rockets to a deep-set slip catcher. Takes it low near the ground but cleanly. Both openers gone.
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3rd over: India 10-1 (Rohit Sharma 4, Virat Kohli 2) Shaheen Afridi continues, and again the Indian batters are circumspect. Kohli drives a couple through the covers. Shaheen hits his pad, eliciting an appeal. Cagey stuff.
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2nd over: India 7-1 (Rohit Sharma 3, Virat Kohli 0) The star of the show, Kohli, to the crease early in proceedings.
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WICKET! KL Rahul b Naseem Shah 4, India 7-1
How did he do that? Naseem bowls a decent enough delivery on a length, with a little movement. KL Rahul pushes forward at it, inside edge, back onto the stumps. Incision!
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1st over: India 5-0 (Rohit Sharma 3, KL Rahul 2) Right then. Can Shaheen Shah Afridi do what India’s openers did? Not exactly, though his first over has India watchful and only collecting five runs in little pushes.
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India require 160 to win
Well, Babar Azam said at the toss that 160 would be a good score. And by hook or by crook, by highway or byway, Pakistan have got there. The start of the innings was a thrilling display of fast bowling, with Babar and Rizwan reduced to spectators watching Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep. Then Masood held things together while Iftikhar settled in and then dined out. Shaheen and Haris kept enough momentum in the innings near the end. Hardik Pandya made timely interventions, Ashwin bowled tidily, and Axar Patel’s one over was taken apart.
20th over: Pakistan 159-7 (Shan Masood 52, Haris Rauf 6) This innings just keeps being full of surprises. A single for Masood, the wicket of Shaheen, then Haris Rauf comes out and blasts his first ball over midwicket for six!
Full delivery, just picks it up off his toes and sends it soaring away. A magnificent shot.
Mind you, his next he swings and misses, and the one after that. Then from the final ball he sets off for a bye, Karthik misses the striker’s stumps, Bhuvneshwar picks up the ball and misses the non-striker’s stumps, and they get back for a second extra.
WICKET! Shaheen c & b Bhuvneshwar 16, Pakistan 151-8
It was fun while it lasted. Shaheen goes for another big pull shot and chips a leading edge back to the bowler, who is somewhat surprised to find it arriving in his hands but nonetheless hangs on.
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19th over: Pakistan 149-7 (Shan Masood 51, Shaheen Afridi 16) A flicked single for Shaheen first ball of the over, a cut single for Masood. Then…
What on earth was that?
Shaheen charges down, picks up the ball from a length, and swats it into the stands! Have they sent out the wrong Afridi? That is an extraordinary shot! A flat six at the MCG. And he follows it up with a booming straight drive for four!
Somewhere, in a lab over the last few months, someone has been secretly teaching Shaheen Afridi to bat.
Arshdeep’s economical figures are taking a battering. Rattled, he bowls a wide that Karthik fumbles and the Pakistanis run another extra. Masood takes a run to keep the strike. On recent evidence, maybe he should hand it over. Shaheen 16 from 7 balls!
18th over: Pakistan 135-7 (Shan Masood 49, Shaheen Afridi 5) Streaky runs for Masood, backing away against Shami and getting a fast edge between short third and the keeper. Backward point is also up in the ring. So is mid-off, and Masood lifts a shot in the air just square of that man! Nearly a catch but he places it well enough. Glances a run from the fifth ball to keep the strike, but Shaheen does the same from the sixth and they decide to take every run on offer.
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17th over: Pakistan 125-7 (Shan Masood 40, Shaheen Afridi 4) Does his job, Afridi, knock away a couple of twos to finish the over. Arshdeep has 3 for 19!
WICKET! Asif Ali c Karthik b Arshdeep 2, Pakistan 120-7
Forget that – instead of hitting he’s going to get hit. Arshdeep Singh bowled so well to start the innings, and carries it on here. Tight lines, giving away nothing but ones and twos, then produces the bouncer to surprise Asif Ali. It’s on the batter faster than he expects, and in the end he flinches while half ducking, and can only glove it up towards fine leg. Karthik runs around from behind the stumps to take a good catch. Shaheen Shah Afridi is coming out next, far too high at number nine.
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16th over: Pakistan 116-6 (Shan Masood 30, Asif Ali 1) Four overs left for Asif Ali to do some clubbing. He starts with a single.
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WICKET! Mohammad Nawaz c Karthik b Pandya 9, Pakistan 115-6
That’s the definition of a cameo. The left-handed Nawaz smashes four runs through point, a gorgeous lofted boundary over cover, then gets a bit of glove on a short slower ball at the body for the keeper to catch.
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15th over: Pakistan 106-5 (Shan Masood 30, Mohammad Nawaz 1) Finally Masood does get back on strike, and tries to get on with the game. Lashes a ball back past Ashwin for two runs that was so nearly caught, but the batter just put too much power on it. Then cuts another brace square.
14th over: Pakistan 98-5 (Shan Masood 30) Three sixes in over over, two wickets in abother. Meanwhile Shan Masood hasn’t even faced a ball.
WICKET! Haider Ali c Suryakumar b Pandya 2, Pakistan 98-5
And a carbon copy to end the over. The new batter throws the cue wildly and sends another catch to SKY.
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WICKET! Shadab Khan c Suryakumar b Pandya 5, Pakistan 96-4
There goes that good cheer. Shadab aims a huge slog across the line at Panya’s straight delivery, and it goes a mile in the air. SKY has a long time to think about it but keeps his composure to send the crowd into raptures.
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13th over: Pakistan 96-3 (Shan Masood 30, Shadab Khan 5) That should cheer Pakistan fans up a bit after Iftikhar’s departure: Shadab Khan walks in and rifles a straight drive down the ground for four.
WICKET! Iftikhar Ahmed lbw Shami 51, Pakistan 91-3
Shami’s quality tells. He twice hits the pad of Iftikhar, once via the inside edge and the second time clean in front of middle stump. Quality fast bowling with some cut off the seam.
We’re having some internet connection problems at the ground, apologies for the slow posting.
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12th over: Pakistan 91-2 (Shan Masood 30, Iftikhar Ahmed 51) Axar Patel on to bowl his first over, and his first ball is destroyed! Iftikhar goes down on one knee and pounds it over deep midwicket, a massive boundary and he sends it deep into the crowd. What a hit.
Two balls later? Same treatment. Over long-on this time, straighter, after he advances and meets the pitch of the ball. Hits it sweetly and forever.
And the next ball. This one isn’t as clean a hit, and KL Rahul at long-off dives over the rope and gets hands to it, but can’t knock it back into the field of play.
Iftikhar follows with a cut shot for three to finish the over, taking 21 from it.
Thanks Simon – Geoff Lemon back with you.
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10th over: Pakistan 60-2 (Shan Masood 29, Iftikhar Ahmed 21) Iftikhar cuts wide of third for four, nicely judged, and then he doesn’t quite get hold of a pull, which is just as well because it was going straight to Suryakumar Yadav, who in the end gathers on the bounce. And that’s your mid-innings drinks break.
11th over: Pakistan 70-2 (Shan Masood 30, Iftikhar Ahmed 30) More from Ashwin, and finally Iftikhar is throwing off the shackles! Down the track he comes, and back over the bowler’s head goes the ball! That is an Aramco maximum, or whatever they call sixes these days.
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9th over: Pakistan 50-2 (Shan Masood 28, Iftikhar Ahmed 13) Ravichandran Ashwin has a chance to make amends for that kind-of-drop – I think he’d have got there had he reacted quicker as the ball headed his way – with the game’s first over ofd spin. The batters have a couple of heaves but don’t quite nail their timing, and the boundary is so distant they can’t get there. Fifty up.
8th over: Pakistan 44-2 (Shan Masood 25, Iftikhar Ahmed 11) An element might be describes as sanity settles over the game, so Shan immediately lifts the ball high to third, where Ashwin is slow to move, and eventually has to dive forward to gather the ball. India celebrate the catch, the crowd goes wild, the batters wait for the catch to be checked, and it looks like ball landed just before hand so he survives. Another tight over, mind.
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7th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Shan Masood 24, Iftikhar Ahmed 11) Hello everyone! This is fun, yes? I’m in the MCG but more or less side-on to the action, so not able to fully appreciate the swing that has been so bothersome for the batters. What I am appreciating is the atmosphere, absolutely stonking. Anyway, Hardik Pandya has a go and gets very close to a run-out as Shan drops the ball short, heads down the pitch, is sent back again and gets there just before the bowler gathers, throws and hits the stumps.
The over ends with a boundary, Shan top-edging a pull to fine leg for four.
6th over: Pakistan 32-2 (Shan Masood 19, Iftikhar Ahmed 7) A change for the final over of the Powerplay, with Mohammed Shami to bowl. In India’s final warm-up match against Australia he only bowled the 20th over… and took three wickets to win the match. He has two slips in place. Why not. Cuts the ball off the seam twice to start with, at 140 kph on a hard length, and Masood can’t do a thing with it. So he backs away a touch third ball and jams it through point for four! Follows it with another flicked three, denied by the MCG’s long boundaries. Iftikhar knocks a single square.
We’ll have a handover for a little while, with Simon Burnton hopping in to the comms chair.
5th over: Pakistan 24-2 (Shan Masood 12, Iftikhar Ahmed 6) Masood has been in great touch recently in English country cricket, and he plays a county stroke as he clips Bhuvi Kumar off his pads for three runs. Iftikhar plays a similar shot for two, then leans back and clubs a pull shot for four. Got to counterattack here.
WICKET! Rizwan c Bhuvneshwar b Arshdeep 4, Pakistan 15-2
4th over: Pakistan 15-2 (Shan Masood 9) The shot off the pads remains profitable for Shan Masood, tucking away a boundary and then a single from Arshdeep Singh, but the bowler responds by squaring up Rizwan and nearly taking his edge. This is a sensational joint bowling performance to start a T20. And that’s before a leading edge pops up in the air! Kohli sprinting in from mid-on, puts in the dive forward but the ball reaches his hands on the half volley. And with one ball to come, Rizwan hooks Arshdeep off the top edge to fine leg, caught! His four runs off 12 balls!
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3rd over: Pakistan 10-1 (Rizwan 4, Shan Masood 4) They still can’t lay bat on ball! Bhuvneshwar is bowling to Shan Masood now, and cuts him in half twice in a row, then three times in the over, to smash the ball into pad. A wide and a dicey leg glance are the only avenues for Pakistan to score until Shan Masood squeezes out a yorker and Rizwan is sharp enough to call him through.
2nd over: Pakistan 6-1 (Rizwan 4, Shan Masood 1) So in comes Shan Masood and picks up where Rizwan left off: unable to lay bat on ball. Left-hander facing left-armer, and the latter is hitting a length and getting swing, like a Test match first morning. Eventually Shan Masood tries the Morse cod run – dot, dot dash – and would have been run out at the non-striker’s end had Virat Kohli hit the stumps with an underam throw from mid on. First run off the bat after 11 balls. But Rizwan finishes the over well: Arshdeep doesn’t correct his line for the right-hander, and delivers it on the pads to offer a leg glance for four.
WICKET! Babar lbw Arshdeep Singh 0, Pakistan 1-1
Huge moment! First ball, the best in the world in this format is given out! Arshdeep bowls left-arm over the wicket, swings the ball into the pads of Babar Azam, and it hits him in line with middle and leg. Of course he has to review, but it’s likely to be clipping leg stump… and it is! A red light, not a yellow one. Pitched the ball it up, gave it a chance to swing, and Babar couldn’t make contact. The noise in this ground right now…
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1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Rizwan 0, Babar o) Bhunvneshwar Kumar starts things off, and he looks to be operating at top pace from the beginning. Rizwan leaves the first ball outside off, but the second leaps alarmingly at him and smashes him on the glove! Painful. He needs the physio, gets treatment, and elects to bat on. Third ball, zips over the top edge of the diagonal bat as he flails at it. Pace, bounce, carry from Bhuvneshwar, with a perfect seam position. Fifth ball: flail and miss! The bounce again! The seam movement taking it away from the bat. Only the sixth ball spoils the sequence, down the leg side marginally for a wide. The replacement delivery cuts into Rizwan and tenderises his thigh pad, too high and going down leg although the bowler appeals.
What a first over!
And we’re away…
Huge flags on the outfield held by volunteers. The teams in front of them. The anthems play out, voices rolling around the amphitheatre in waves. Goosebump moment.
The fireworks go off – the literal ones – and the bowl of the MCG is filled with smoke. It dissipates quickly in the cool swirling Melbourne air. This is October, not yet summer, so it’s not freezing but it’s on the brisk side.
So much of today’s result will come down to the pairing between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan at the top of Pakistan’s batting order. They are the most prolific pair in history, with 2313 runs together for Pakistan at an average of 53.
Mind you, second spot goes to Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, with 1809 runs at 51.
People on the internet might have a set against Virat Kohli, but the difference in crowd response when he appeared on the big screen compared to every other Indian player tells you that he’s by far the favourite with the average spectator in the crowd.
Teams
Pakistan
Babar Azam *
Mohammed Rizwan +
Shan Masood
Shadab Khan
Haider Ali
Iftikhar Ahmed
Mohammed Nawaz
Asif Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Haris Rauf
India
Rohit Sharma *
KL Rahul
Virat Kohli
Suryakumar Yadav
Hardik Pandya
Dinesh Karthik
Axar Patel
Ravichandran Ashwin
Mohammed Shami
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Arshdeep Singh
Right then. I’m told that Rohit said the overcast conditions made him hope for swing, hence bowling first. Babar thinks that 160 could be competitive – could be right, given the MCG pitch is often a bit slow, and the boundaries are so big.
India win the toss and will bowl
Another mighty roar as Rohit Sharma benefits from the falling coin. He’ll choose to field. Why, I can’t tell you, because I cannot hear a word he says over the noise of the crowd. Anyone on TV got a quieter line? Babar Azam gets a pretty decent cheer as well when it’s his turn to speak.
Wowwww! A huge roar at the ground as Ravi Shastri appears on the big screen to conduct the toss. He’s back.
Drop me a line: my email is geoff.lemon@theguardian.com, or I’m on the tweets at @GeoffLemonSport. There’s often not much time during a T20, but we’ll try to get some reader contributions into the coverage if you have something interesting or original to add. Consider the gauntlet thrown down.
What about the weather? The talking point for the last few days has been the likelihood of rain. We had lots of it on Friday night, some more on Saturday and Saturday night, but none so far today. And the radar for now looks clear! Happy days and happy nights.
Preamble
Here we go! The most populous rivalry in world cricket, in front of a crowd the likes of which we may not have seen before. Coming to you live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and I can tell you that it is heaving inside and out. The seats look about three quarters full with more than half an hour until the first ball, and the crowd outside was immense on the way in, with stages and bands and performers and all the trimmings. The noise in here, with the windows open up on the broadcast level, is impressive. And that’s just people chatting and catching up.
