India vs Pakistan: 1st T20I

The much awaited India v Pakistan series began yesterday. The traditional rivalry between these two team is what makes their matches so exciting. The matches almost define unpredictability in cricket! Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first. Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane opened for India. They gave India a solid start. There was a flurry of boundaries which was well supported with singles. India made it to 77-0 before Rahane was dismissed by Shahid Afridi. Virat Kohli walked in. Gambhir took charge. India were going well till Gambhir was run out. Yuvraj Singh joined Kohli. Yuvraj smashed a huge six. Kohli was dismissed by Mohammad Irfan two overs later. MS Dhoni came in. He didn't contribute much and was dismissed for 1 by Saeed Ajmal. In came Suresh Raina. The innings didn't move and Yuvraj was dismissed very soon by Umar Gul. Rohit Sharma came in. India's sorrow continued as Raina was dismissed by Saeed Ajmal in the next over. The action didn't stop there as Sharma was run out in the next ball. Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvaneswar Kumar were the two new men at the crease. Jadeja was dismissed in the next over by Umar Gul. Ishant Sharma came in. He was dismissed on the next ball. Ashok Dinda came in. Finally, India scored 133 off 20 overs. Pakistan had to chase down a modest total of 134. India needed exceptional bowling. Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad opened for Pakistan. Pakistan had the worst possible start as they lost their first wicket in the very first over, thanks to Bhuvaneswar Kumar. Nasir Jamshed was replaced by Mohammad Hafeez. Shehzad was dismissed by Kumar in the third over. Umar Akmal walked in. He was dismissed in the same over by Kumar. India had managed to get a brilliant start. Shoaib Malik walked in. Hafeez and Malik consolidated the Pakistani innings. Both of them scored brilliant half-centuries. India needed a wicket. Finally, Hafeez was dismissed by Ishant Sharma. Kamran Akmal joined Malik. Pakistan need 16 off 17 balls. At the end of that over, Pakistan need 12 off 12. Ashok Dinda bowled the next over and took the wicket of Akmal. Shahid Afridi came in. 10 off 6. Adrenalin was pumping! Ravindra Jadeja bowled the over. The over started well. Pakistan needed 6 runs with 3 balls left. Malik was on strike. He hit a huge six and won the game for Pakistan! And thus, the thriller came to an end!