Kohli masterclass silences Pakistan

The match in a tweet: How good is Virat Kohli? India's superstar scores unbeaten fifty to steer India to six-wicket win over arch rivals on sharply turning pitch

The hero: Who else but Virat Kohli. The man is a run-scoring machine in Twenty20 cricket, and has a simply unbelievable record batting second in T20 internationals. When India win, he averages an scarcely believable 109.16 in the run chase. Being there at the end certainly helps the average, but with that sort of weapon in your side, why wouldn't MS Dhoni elect to bowl first? On a pitch where Pakistan's batsmen struggled to score consistently against the turning ball, and his top-order teammates had been undone by seam and pace, Kohli looked on another level. This wasn't a wicket for the pyrotechnics of a Chris Gayle or even Joe Root, but Kohli through timing and placement and sheer determination was able to steer his side to victory. When Pakistan strayed in line or length they were punished. When he reached his half-century, he bowed in the direction of the watching Sachin Tendulkar. The prince paying homage to the king, but perhaps with a warning he has eyes on the crown.

The support cast: India veteran Yuvraj Singh will live in World T20 folklore for his 36-run over against Stuart Broad at Durban in the very first tournament, but a resourceful knock in support of Kohli against Pakistan will earn him just as much affection from the India faithful. And who else but MS Dhoni would be there at the end, an imperious straight six to level the scores.

The effort: How about Hardik Pandya, laying it all on the line for India and just about laying himself out cold in the process. International cricketers regularly make catches running in from the boundary look much easier than anyone who's ever tried it knows they are, but Pandya's was something special. At full speed he needed  a despairing lunge forward to reach the mis-timed pull shot from Sharjeel Khan. It cost him a mouthful of Eden Gardens turf as momentum saw him smash face first into the ground before tumbling forward in an awkward somersault. But the important thing was he held onto the catch. Pandya needed a short spell off the ground to compose himself, but returned to bowl and take the key wicket of Shahid Afridi.

The talking point: With the rain keeping the Eden Gardens pitch under covers for much of the day, there was some thinking pace and seam would be key. It was to be a red herring. Pakistan opted to drop left-arm orthodox spinner Imad Wasim for seam bowler Mohamma Sami. India opted to bowl first. It took only two balls for the true nature of the wicket to reveal itself, Ravi Ashwin ripping one past the outside edge of Sharjeel Khan's bat. Ashwin's sixth ball was a stunner, drifting across the right handed Ahmed Shehzad from around the wicket, turning sharply from outside off and splitting the batsman's defence. Shehzad was lucky to escape with byes. It was not to be the last unplayable delivery. Afridi admitted after the match he would have loved to have had the spinner back in his XI if he had his time again.

The consolation effort: Mohammad Sami will likely feel the brunt of Pakistan fans' anger – he was the one recalled for Imad – but he did his job admirably for the green team. As his first ball was despatched to the fence, and his second was a no ball Pakistan fans must have groaned, recalling his effort against Bangladesh in the recent Asia Cup. But here, on a spin-friendly pitch his upright seam and pace proved too good for Shikhar Dhawan and, the very next ball, Suresh Raina, who was bemused to see his leg stump splayed on the Eden Gardens grass. Both were bowled off the inside edge, suggesting Sami had been able to extract just enough movement from the wicket. Sadly two boundaries and a total of 12 runs from his second over helped Kohli and Yuvraj cement their partnership.

The stat: Zero – the number of wins Pakistan have against India in World Cups and World Twenty20 events. There's nothing that infuriates Pakistan supporters more, and there's nothing more India supporters like to hold over their rivals. The two nations have now met 11 times in either the World Cup or World T20 since their first meeting at the SCG in 1992. They've not been close since a five-run loss in the final of the 2007 World T20.

Kohli's stats were alluded to above. He averages 53 in T20 internationals, all at a strike-rate of 132. He is the only batsmen to average above 50 from those have scored more than 1,000 T20I runs. He has 14 fifties in 37 innings, an incredible conversion rate. Breaking it down further, when Kohli scores, India wins. Batting first in matches India win, Kohli averages 45.33 he averages 10

The wash-up: India are back in the hunt and have reasserted their dominance. The loss to New Zealand sent shockwaves through the World T20 but this performance shows why they were installed as favourites long before this tournament began.

The next stop: Where to from here for India? Pakistan next play the red-hot New Zealand Black Caps in Mohali. India face an Asia Cup final rematch against Group Stage qualifiers Bangladesh in Delhi, however Bangladesh have been weakened after their two leading bowlers Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed were yesterday banned for illegal bowling actions.