India v Pakistan
Wisden's review of the fourth match, India v Pakistan
15-Apr-2016
At Adelaide, February 15, 2015 (day/night). India won by 76 runs. Toss: India.
Scarcely a hotel room was unoccupied as hordes of Indian supporters and a smaller - but equally vocal - Pakistani contingent descended on Adelaide. They would witness a game that ran to script: for the sixth time out of six since the sides first met in the World Cup, at Sydney in 1992, India won. Dhoni had chosen to bat on a pitch that was blameless at first but likely to slow up later, and India absorbed exacting early spells from Mohammad Irfan and Sohail Khan for the loss of only Rohit Sharma. Dhawan added 129 for the second wicket with Kohli, who found his range after failing to reach double figures in the tri-series with Australia and England. Kohli then put on 110 with Raina for the third, completing his 22nd one-day international century - and the first by an Indian against Pakistan in the World Cup. Sohail finished with five wickets as India were limited to an even 300, but the leg-breaks of Yasir Shah were treated contemptuously; he would not play again in the tournament. Pakistan's batting line-up felt the sum of spare parts, the result of trying to field five bowlers: Younis Khan made a rare appearance as an opener, and Umar Akmal kept wicket. A platform of 102 for two in the 24th over was serviceable, but three fell for one run, leaving Misbah-ul-Haq - not for the first time - to shoulder the burden. Unfairly, he took much of the blame on social media for Pakistan's latest World Cup misadventure against their most heated rivals. DANIEL BRETTIG
Man of the Match: V. Kohli.
Scarcely a hotel room was unoccupied as hordes of Indian supporters and a smaller - but equally vocal - Pakistani contingent descended on Adelaide. They would witness a game that ran to script: for the sixth time out of six since the sides first met in the World Cup, at Sydney in 1992, India won. Dhoni had chosen to bat on a pitch that was blameless at first but likely to slow up later, and India absorbed exacting early spells from Mohammad Irfan and Sohail Khan for the loss of only Rohit Sharma. Dhawan added 129 for the second wicket with Kohli, who found his range after failing to reach double figures in the tri-series with Australia and England. Kohli then put on 110 with Raina for the third, completing his 22nd one-day international century - and the first by an Indian against Pakistan in the World Cup. Sohail finished with five wickets as India were limited to an even 300, but the leg-breaks of Yasir Shah were treated contemptuously; he would not play again in the tournament. Pakistan's batting line-up felt the sum of spare parts, the result of trying to field five bowlers: Younis Khan made a rare appearance as an opener, and Umar Akmal kept wicket. A platform of 102 for two in the 24th over was serviceable, but three fell for one run, leaving Misbah-ul-Haq - not for the first time - to shoulder the burden. Unfairly, he took much of the blame on social media for Pakistan's latest World Cup misadventure against their most heated rivals. DANIEL BRETTIG
Man of the Match: V. Kohli.