How Virat Kohli's innings vs Pakistan had huge impact on UPI and Diwali shopping in India

Former India skipper Virat Kohli was at his best again when he came down to bat against Pakistan in their opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli scored an unbeaten 82 runs off just 53 balls to help India emerge victorious in the game. India defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets to win the nail-biting thriller. Meanwhile, an interesting fact has emerged from the time of the game when Kohli was busy batting for India. 

Virat Kohli stops India from shopping, literally

According to an investment officer named Mihir Vora, most people in India stopped shopping when Rohit Sharma & Co. were batting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). As per data shared by Vora, the UPI transactions in the country witnessed a massive dip from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The transactions gained momentum again after Kohli finished the chase for India and won the game. This happened at a time when most of India was busy shopping for Diwali. 

This shows how popular the sport is in India and to what extent people can go especially when India is playing arch-rivals Pakistan in a World Cup match. India is the biggest cricketing market in the world with more than 400 million fans estimated to be from the country alone.  

India vs Pakistan

As far as the match is concerned, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Batting first, Pakistan lost a couple of early wickets in the form of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Arshdeep Singh bowled beautifully to pick the wickets of Pakistan's openers. Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmad then forged a crucial partnership to help Pakistan reach a respectable total of 159/8 in 20 overs. 

Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya were the picks of the bowlers from the Indian side as they registered a three-wicket haul each. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also scalped a wicket each to their names. 

In the second innings, Pakistan's Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf struck early to put India under pressure. India were reeling at 31-4 at one stage in the game. However, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya then forged a much-needed partnership to rescue India from a turbulent start. The duo scored 113 off 78 balls between them before Hardik was dismissed for 40 off 37 balls. Kohli remained unbeaten at 82 off 53 balls to help India finish the chase. He was named the player of the match for his outstanding knock. 

Image: Twitter/BCCI