Virat Kohli Inning: Virat Kohli was the hero of victory against Pakistan. Many former cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, believed that this was Virat’s best innings ever. Even Virat Kohli himself believes so. In the conversation after the end of the match, Virat Kohli said that before this, I used to find my innings played in Mohali the best, but in the kind of conditions today, this is my innings really best. After the match, Virat Kohli also became emotional and thanked the fans wholeheartedly for their support even in their bad times. He said that by the end of the match, it was such a situation that I have no words for that. Sachin Tendulkar also admitted that this is the best innings of Virat Kohli till date.
Great partnership with Hardik
Kohli may not have words, but he was sure that a win against Pakistan could be recorded. In the first match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday, when India’s score was 31 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, a possible defeat was clearly visible. But Kohli, along with Hardik Pandya, put on a 113-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Virat Kohli admitted that the task seemed “impossible” at one point of time, but his teammate Hardik continued to exude courage. He said, “It seemed impossible, but then Hardik kept taking me forward in that partnership and we just kept on scoring runs.” He added that Hardik kept telling me: ‘Just believe, believe we can do it, if stay till the end’.
turn defeat into victory
Chasing 160 for victory, India needed 54 runs from the last four overs and it looked like Pakistan would win. But Mohammad Nawaz had one over left, and he was Pakistan’s weak link. Nawaz came later, but before that Kohli brought India back into the game with two consecutive sixes in the last two balls of the over off Pakistan’s best bowler Haris Rauf.
Hit the best bowler of Pakistan for sixes
Kohli said that I knew Nawaz had to bowl an over. So I told Hardik that he would panic if I hit Haris, as he was their main bowler. So I decided to hit sixes. Because of these sixes, when we needed 28 out of eight, it became 16 for six.