Kohli and Dhoni share a wonderful chemistry and understanding of each other's game.
Indian captain Virat Kohli on Sunday (August 16) posted a video on Instagram to explain how selfless MS Dhoni was as a cricketer and the trust they had in each other. The video included two partnerships of his with the former Indian captain, who retired from international cricket yesterday. Kohli took over the Test captaincy from Dhoni in 2014 and the white-ball captaincy in 2017.
The duo shared a wonderful chemistry and understanding about each other's respective games and their partnerships were often calculated and resulted in wins for India. Both had the common love for chasing down totals and are among the best if not the two best-ever chasers in white-ball cricket's history.
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One of the partnerships in Kohli's video was from the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa, when Dhoni had the chance to score the winning runs off Beuran Hendricks but selflessly played a defensive shot to ensure Kohli gets the opportunity to hit the winning the runs after his outstanding knock, which he did off Dale Steyn on the first ball of the final over of the game and finished unbeaten on 72.
“Yes, he gave me a chance to finish the game off. I had told him, ‘Aap khatam karo (you do it)’, but he told me, ‘Tune acchi batting kari hain, to ye mera gift hain tere liye (you have batted well, take this gift from me),'” Kohli had said after the game.
The second partnership was arguably their best one in the shortest format against Australia in a do-or-die game in the 2016 T20 World Cup, when the duo displayed some of the most remarkable running between the wickets you will ever see before the final assault on the bowlers which ensured India went through to the semi-finals.
Dhoni tapped the ball from James Faulkner gently towards mid-on and called Kohli for two runs which no one including the commentator Michael Slater thought was possible, but due to their understanding and speed, they made it possible and completed the double easily. Kohli, who made 82* in the game, has often reflected on this partnership and victory as one of the most memorable ones of his career.
Indian fans are unlikely to see them bat together again in a competitive game as both lead different franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the memories of them batting together won't fade away too soon from anyone's mind including their's.