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India's T20 World Cup winning skipper Rohit Sharma spoke on his favourite India versus Pakistan moment in T20 WC career, pointing to the inaugural final in 2007 in South Africa where he played a fiery cameo and the classic in front of a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which saw a Virat Kohli classic as amongst his favourite ones.
Rohit, now the ambassador for this edition of the T20 World Cup, was speaking ahead of the clash against India and Pakistan in Colombo. Speaking in a video posted by ICC on Instagram on being asked about his favourite T20WC moment against Pakistan, Rohit said, "There have been lots actually. But I would definitely pick the finals that we played, my first-ever World Cup final. An inaugural World Cup 2007, which we won. That was very, very special to me. And obviously, recently, a couple of years ago, we played a game in Melbourne. That was just outstanding as well." During the T20 WC 2007 final between India and Pakistan in South Africa, besides a 54-ball 75 from Gautam Gambhir, it was Rohit's unbeaten 16-ball 30*, with two fours and a six, powered India to 157/5 and India went on to win by 5 runs, bundling out Pakistan for 152 runs, with Irfan Pathan (3/16) leading the bowling from the front. In 2022 at Melbourne, while chasing 160, India was four down at 31 runs, but it was Virat Kohli (82* in 53 balls, with six fours and four sixes) and Hardik Pandya (40 in 37 balls, with a four and two sixes), who put on a century stand and took India home with four wickets left, on the final ball. Meanwhile, coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first. The masterclass by Ishan Kishan (77 in 40 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes) and crucial knocks from skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32 in 29 balls, with three fours) and Shivam Dube (27 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to a competitive total of 175/7 on a tough pitch. Ayub (3/25 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, while Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/31 in two overs), Usman Tariq (1/24 in four overs) and Agha (1/10 in two overs) were also among the wickets. (ANI)
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