Dubai: Cometh the hour, cometh the superstar of cricket -- Virat Kohli. Virat (57 off 49) has often thwarted bowling line-ups but when the stakes are high and the situation gets demanding, the world's best raises his level, almost ethereal as if lost in his own perfection which was on full showcase here as he helped India score 151-7 against Pakistan on Sunday.
Although, Pakistan's improved fielding and fiery bowling applied breaks on India's scoring rate right from the onset with Shaheen Afridi leading the bowling pack as he sent Rohit Sharma (0) and in-form KL Rahul (3) back into the hut in the first and third over of the match.
Suryakumar Yadav (11 off 8) looked promising initially but was beaten by Hasan Ali as the ball edged to the wicket-keeper, Mohammad Rizwan.
In what was a sluggish pitch, Kohli's masterly strokes fetched five fours, but his running between the wickets where he pushes physical exertion to the highest level got him most of his runs and his half-century too. He was dismissed in the 19th over by Shaheen.
Shaheen's sensational fast bowling prowess blanked India completely. The fast deliveries angled inwards proved too much to handle for Rohit and Rahul. But Rishabh Pant (39 from 30 balls) and Kohli kept the ship sailing until Pant was removed from the strip by Shadab Khan.
Ravindra Jadeja too couldn't contribute to the scoreline much, scoring just 13 off 13 deliveries.
Swashbuckling batsman Hardik Pandya, who has been given the responsibility of explosiveness in the end scored 11 from 8 balls.
However, it still is a tall order for India despite the pitch being on the slower side and Bumrah and co. faces a massive challenge to stop Pakistan's batting line-up who will be up for nothing but a win in a World Cup match.
