It’s India v Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup: follow Wisden’s live blog here for live scores, updates, commentary and analysis of the IND vs PAK match in Melbourne on October 23 (Sunday).

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India v Pakistan, live updates: T20 World Cup 2022

2022-10-23: 13:04:00: Virat Kohli is the Player of the Match. To the surprise of few, he rates this above his innings in Mohali in the 2016 T20 World Cup, which he had always rated as his finest.

2022-10-23, 12:57:00: India win by 4 wickets off the last ball: The last ball is a wide down leg, Ashwin calmly lets it pass. Babar pulls everyone in, and Ashwin calmly lofts the ball over mid-off to get the winning run. Two moments of excellent game awareness to seal a mad, mad match. What a clash.

2022-10-23, 12:53:00: India 158-6 (19.5), need 2 in 1: Karthik is out, stumped. On the pads, he goes for a swipe, he is outside the crease, and Rizwan tumbles over to pull off a stumping.

2022-10-23, 12:49:00: India 158-5 (19.4), need 2 in 2: Karthik gets off the strike. Kohli bunts the next ball down the ground, it is not a four, but Karthik comes flying to convert it into a two. It works, for Kohli lofts the next ball – a high full-toss – over mid-wicket for six, and IT IS A NO-BALL FOR HEIGHT! And the free hit is a WIDE! Nawaz bowls Kohli, the ball ricochets off the stumps, they run THREE BYES!

2022-10-23, 12:43:00: India 144-5 (19.1), need 16 in 5: Nawaz strikes! Hardik eyes the deep mid-wicket fence but does not middle it, and the leading edge balloons to the off-side. Remember, it does not matter whether the batters had crossed.

2022-10-23, 12:41:00: India 144-4 (19), need 16 in 6: Haris. Nawaz will have to bowl the last over, so Haris has to provide him with as much cushion as possible. He concedes just three singles off the first four balls – but Kohli plays an incredible, almost absurd bottom-handed straight drive into the stands. And the last ball fetches six runs as well, over fine-leg, the crowd erupts. Nawaz has to defend 16.

2022-10-23, 12:36:00: India 128-4 (18), need 32 in 12: Shaheen for the 18th, and Kohli goes after his first ball. Slightly short, pulled brutally, almost a six but not quite. Shaheen alters his line, and Kohli lofts him beautifully over mid-off for four, excellent placement. He picks up four off the last ball too, this one is probably the best of them all, Shaheen pitched short, and he hooks it behind himself, to the fine-leg fence.

2022-10-23, 12:29:00: India 112-4 (17), need 48 in 18: Naseem’s final over, Babar want to push Nawaz as far back as possible. And Naseem rises to the challenge. Two singles, two twos, two dots, Virat and Hardik simply cannot get him away. Top over, top spell, 4-0-23-1.

2022-10-23, 12:25:00: India 106-4 (16), need 54 in 24: Rauf is back. The first ball, short, whooshes past Hardik’s bat. There is virtually no respite from that stifling pace, until Haris strays in line and bowls a leg-side wide. Rizwan does well to get a glove and prevent two runs, but all India manage from that over is six. Top, top over.

2022-10-23, 12:20:00: India 100-4 (15), need 60 in 30: Babar has to save Haris and Naseem for the death, and bowling Nawaz is too risky, so it has to be Naseem. Kohli places the first ball and sprints for two. He glances the fourth ball, fine-leg is up, so four more. Ten off the over.

2022-10-23, 12:15:00: India 90-4 (14), need 70 in 36: Shadab to bowl out. The first ball is a rank long-hop, and Kohli calmly places it through extra-cover for four. He gets away against Hardik, who fails to beat short third. In the end, he does well, conceding just three singles off his last five balls. Pakistan still have an over from Nawaz.

2022-10-23, 12:12:00: India 83-4 (13), need 77 in 42: The 20-run over forces Babar to break the Shadab-Nawaz monotone and recall Afridi. Kohli shuffles across against the fourth ball, plays a delectable leg-glance for four. Afridi’s last ball is an excellent yorker, and Hardik does well to keep it out.

2022-10-23, 12:07:00: India 74-4 (12), need 86 in 48: Something had to give, and Hardik goes after Nawaz. On leg-stump, and it soars over mid-wicket into the stands. Just like Pakistan, India are turning it on after the break. He runs a single, Kohli tries to flick the next ball, it lobs in the air, Rizwan holds it, and Pakistan review! Not out, and to add insult to the injury, Kohli steps out and lofts the next ball over Nawaz for six. And Hardik lofts the last ball for another straight six. India are still in this.

2022-10-23, 12:01:00: India 54-4 (11), need 106 in 54: The break is done, and Hardik takes on Shadab. He has been bowling flatter, but tosses this one up, and Hardik plays a fierce straight drive for four. India need many, many more of these. Kohli flicks the last ball past mid-wicket for two, India get nine off the over, but the asking rate is now approaching 12.

2022-10-23, 11:55:00: India 45-4 (10), need 115 in 60: Shadab and Nawaz wheel through two more overs of semi-activity. They stick to their line, not attempting to do anything special, just playing the waiting game. The onus is on India to take risks. There are two overs to come from each of Shaheen, Naseem, Haris, remember.

2022-10-23, 11:49:00: India 38-4 (8), need 122 in 72: Kohli and Hardik play out Shadab, then Nawaz, nudging the ball for singles. These are supposed to be Pakistan’s weak overs, but India are unable to take risks. If Pakistan get these eight overs without much damage, the match is theirs to lose.

2022-10-23, 11:44:00: India 31-4 (6.1), need 129 in 83: Axar is run out. He pushes Shadab’s first ball to mid-wicket and sets off, but Kohli sends him back – and rightly so. Rizwan almost fails to gather but he somehow, amidst the confusion, he knocks the bails off. The fielders are not enthusiastic, but Rizwan had actually done his bit.

2022-10-23, 11:40:00: India 31-3 (6), need 129 in 84: India have promoted Axar to break the right-hand monotone. They play out Haris’ over, the powerplay is done, the asking rate is 9.21.

2022-10-23, 11:36:00: India 26-3 (5.3), need 134 in 87: Slightly short from Haris, and SKY pounces on it. Does not bother to go back, just stands and pulls for four. Haris bowls short again, this time SKY tries to play it over the slips and manages a tame edge, MASSIVE wicket for Pakistan!

2022-10-23, 11:32:00: India 22-2 (5), need 138 in 90: SKY will play his shots. Change of ends for Naseem, he pitches on leg, SKY flicks, does not try to keep it on the ground, they run another three. India are still cautious (who can blame them?), but the asking rate is now past nine.

2022-10-23: 11:29:00: India 17-2 (4), need 143 in 96: SKY pushes the first ball past the bowler for four, that is something only the most in-form batters will play. He pushes the second ball through cover as well, top shot, three runs.

2022-10-23, 11:25:00: India 10-2 (3.2), need 150 in 100: Haris of Melbourne Stars gets the Indian captain in Melbourne! Comes in at vicious pace, Rohit stays rooted to the crease, Iftikhar takes a superb low catch at slip, the umpires take their time but Rohit is already walking. India are unravelling, this is superb fast bowling.

2022-10-23, 11:22:00: India 10-1 (3), need 150 in 102: Shaheen bowls his second over, and Kohli manages a two past point. India are still in waiting mode, prepared to see out the Shaheen-Naseem-Haris threat and wait for the spinners.

2022-10-23, 11:17:00: India 7-1 (2), need 153 in 108: Naseem at the other end, and he undoes Rahul with a 142 kph ball. Rahul tries to steer it, but it is too close for that: the ball takes the inside edge, hits the pad, and then the stumps. The huge crowd (sections of it, to be honest) roars.

2022-10-23, 11:12:00: India 5-0 (1), need 155 in 114: What have we missed? Nothing? Great. Just in time for Shaheen to Rahul. Starts with a yorker and gets the next one to swing. He continues to pitch up, but does not move it the way Bhuvi and Arshdeep did earlier. India get five runs.

2022-10-23, 10:53:00: Pakistan 159-8 (20): Rauf is obviously going to swing at everything. The first ball, a low full-toss, disappears somewhere over mid-wicket. He keeps swinging, misses the next three, but they run a bye off the last, and DK throws, and DK misses, and Bhuvi throws, and Bhuvi misses, and amidst all that, they get an extra run. Phew!

2022-10-23, 10:50:00: Pakistan 151-8 (19.2): Bhuvneshwar takes out Afridi. Possibly slower than usual, Afridi completes the pull well before he should have. A leading edge of sorts lobs back to the bowler.

2022-10-23, 10:46:00: Pakistan 149-7 (19): Arshdeep will bowl the 19th over, and Afridi goes after him! Clears his front leg out of the way, does not get in position, but the power and timing helps it clear mid-wicket, what a shot! Arshdeep pitches up the next ball, and Afridi bunts it to the long-off fence for four.

2022-10-23, 10:41:00: Pakistan 135-7 (18): Shami to bowl out. No one at deep third, and an edge runs for four. Masood pushes the next ball uppishly past mid-on, Ashwin dives, but it is too far, four more. Two overs left now, Pakistan will want 150.

2022-10-23, 10:35:00: Pakistan 125-7 (17): Arshdeep returns – to strike. Bangs in short, Asif ducks, but the ball does not rise at all. In the end Asif ends up saving his face, and DK pouches an easy catch. Pakistan are down to their fast bowlers now.

2022-10-23, 10:27:00: Pakistan 115-6 (15.5): Hardik to bowl out, and the in-form Nawaz takes him on. Places the second ball past deep third for four, blasts the fourth ball through mid-off, but this is Hardik’s day, and he hits back! Nawaz makes room to cut, but Hardik finds the edge, and that is that.

2022-10-23, 10:23:00: Pakistan 106-5 (15 overs): Two left-handers at the crease, and Rohit does the logical thing by recalling Ashwin. Masood lofts the fourth ball on the off-side – but it hits the spidercam, and it is a dead ball. Rohit probably thinks it would have been a catch. Masood hits the next ball back at Ashwin, it is a difficult chance, and Ashwin cannot hold on. He would be happy with that eight-run over.

2022-10-23, 10:18:00: Pakistan 98-5 (14 overs): Hardik had an ordinary day with the ball so far, but this over changes all that. Haider goes the Asif way, trying an almighty heave, mistiming, and finding the same fielder – SKY – at roughly the same position. Pakistan are down to Nawaz, they still have Asif.

2022-10-23, 10:14:00: Pakistan 96-4 (13.2 overs): Shadab’s kamikaze mission does not end well. He goes for a wild slog, does not time it at all, and long-on holds it well inside the ropes. Pakistan bat until No.8, though.

2022-10-23, 10:12:00: Pakistan 96-3 (13 overs): Is Shami quicker than usual today? The ball is darting off the pitch, whooshing past the outside edge. Shadab hits a delectable straight-drive for four, but is beaten the next ball.

2022-10-23, 10:08:00: Pakistan 91-3 (12.2 overs): Shami comes to the party with a wicket. Just when Iftikhar threatens to cut loose, Rohit recalls Shami – and he strikes. Iftikhar survives an inside edge off the first ball, but misses the second ball completely. Leg-before, easy one for the umpire.

2022-10-23, 10:06:00: Pakistan 91-2 (12 overs): The right-handed Iftikhar takes on Axar. Off the first ball, a slog-sweep, over deep mid-wicket. Of the third, a colossal shot over long-on. Off the fourth, he sits on one knee and clears a flying Rahul at long-off. A square-cut for three off the last ball makes it a 21-run over. How many of these in the next eight overs?

2022-10-23, 10:02:00: Pakistan 70-2 (11 overs): Iftikhar hits the first six of the match. Ashwin bowls the carrom ball, but Iftikhar spots it, steps out and clears the straight boundary with admirable poise. Expect more of these. Expect Axar too.

2022-10-23, 09:56:00: Pakistan 60-2 (10 overs): Hardik bowls – perhaps an over more than ideal? India are perhaps holding back Axar because of the left-handed Masood, but Hardik’s over goes for ten. India are still ahead in this, but Pakistan bat deep, and they have some really explosive batters.

2022-10-23, 09:52:00: Pakistan 50-2 (9 overs): Ashwin with the ball now, this will be interesting. Babar and Rizwan have famously not dominated against off-spin, but now that they are gone, Ashwin’s role has changed. As things turn out, a tidy over, four runs off it.

2022-10-23, 09:48:00: Pakistan 44-2 (8 overs): Ashwin almost takes a stunner. Shami bounces, Masood hooks, Ashwin sprints, dives forward to take a catch, and celebrates – but the replays suggest the ball had bounced before he had caught it.

2022-10-23, 09:41:00: Pakistan 41-2 (7 overs): Aah, could have been another wicket. Hardik bangs in short, Masood pulls and top-edges, but Arshdeep is too square on the fence, and the ball goes very fine. Four runs.

2022-10-23, 09:38:00: Pakistan 35-2 (6.3 overs): Hardik with the ball… and with the throw. Masood pushes a ball towards leg and sets off. There is obviously no run in this, but there may be a run out, and Hardik throws the stumps down. Masood survives, but it was a close call. Terrific from Hardik. A slight pause as the medical staff attends to Masood.

2022-10-23, 09:34:00: In comes Shami. He hits Masood on the thigh-pad, but Masood give it back. First, a well-placed cut between cover and point for four, then a flick for three (they could have run four there). Pakistan are 32-2 after the powerplay. This has clearly been India’s phase, but now their change bowlers have to come good.

2022-10-23, 09:29:00: Pakistan’s time to regroup. Masood picks up a three and a two with two firm flicks, but it is Iftikhar who plays what has been the best shot until now. A rare short-pitched ball, and he pulls it through mid-wicket. An easy placement, because India have two slips.

2022-10-23, 09:26:00: Arshdeep bounces out Rizwan! The runs have died out, and Rizwan goes for the hook the moment he sees the bouncer. But the ball comes quicker than he thinks, and this is an enormous ground. Fine-leg accepts it gleefully.

2022-10-23, 09:24:00: Going, going, gone…? Aah, almost, Rizwan tries to chip it towards leg and the ball balloons up towards mid-on, Kohli runs and runs and dives and tries to slide his fingers underneath. It. Falls. Just. Short.

2022-10-23, 09:20:00: Yet another superb over from Bhuvneshwar. He swung it both ways (the underline was for the angles, they are absurd), beat the bat, even nailed a yorker. This is top-class new-ball bowling in any format. Pakistan are 10-1 in three overs.

2022-10-23, 09:16:00: And India almost get Shan Masood as well! He pushes the ball to mid-off and sets off. There was never a run there, but Kohli, of all people, misses the stumps. Masood was nowhere remotely close to the crease, he would have been twice out (if that is a thing) had Kohli hit.

2022-10-23, 09:10:00: Arshdeep strikes with the first ball he bowls in an ICC tournament! Babar tries to flick and misses, the review was more out of desperation than anything else. It is plumb, the third umpire confirms, and this huge ground erupts. WHAT A MOMENT for young Arshdeep, getting Babar Azam with the first ball in a rivalry of this intensity.

2022-10-23, 09:07:00: Predictably superb from Bhuvneshwar first up. Hits Rizwan on the glove with the second ball, and the medical staff rushes out. There is a wide down leg – Karthik does brilliantly to prevent extra runs – but that is everything Pakistan have. It is also the only lapse in an otherwise terrific over where Pakistan did not have any breathing space.

2022-10-23, 08:41:00: The playing XIs are here.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.

2022-10-23, 08:33:00: India win the toss and opt to bowl in overcast conditions. Reminder that the team chasing has won seven out of the last eight Twenty20 Internationals at the MCG.

2022-10-23, 08:09:00: We are less than an hour from the first ball here. More than the cricket, the buzz has been around the weather. While it is not quite sunny – nothing to do with Gavaskar – there has been no rain, and that is good news. The colossal Melbourne Cricket Ground is all set for a riveting clash.

2022-10-23, 12:00:00: Hello and welcome to the live blog for the highly-anticipated match between India and Pakistan. We’re less than an hour away from the toss. The weather forecast so far says there’s no rain in Melbourne. Hopefully, that remains the case closer to the game. According to the Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology, the chances of rain today still remain at 60-70 per cent. Here’s more on that.

Elsewhere, Sri Lanka are playing Ireland – George Dockrell has been picked in the XI, despite being “potentially positive for Covid-19”. The future of how things will work in the sport?

Still unsure about who to pick in your fantasy side? Here are some tips, predictions and suggestions for the IND v PAK game.

To bet on the World Cup, head to bet365.

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IndiaPakistan Series Editorial