In what is dubbed as cricket’s greatest rivalry, Team India took on Pakistan in their T20 World Cup 2022 opener on Sunday (October 23) at the iconic MCG.
The match surely lived up to the hype courtesy of Virat Kohli’s astonishing display of batsmanship when the game was on the line.
Being set a target of 160 on a pitch that had a lot on offer for the seamers, Kohli came out to bat in the second over after KL Rahul got dismissed cheaply. Virat held one end firmly as India lost three wickets in the next four overs.
With the required run rate increasing after every the delivery, the target was looking unattainable. However, the former Indian captain worked in tandem with Hardik Pandya and stitched a 113-run partnership that effectively brought the team back into the game.
While initially, Kohli had trouble finding gaps, managing only 15 runs off his first 24 balls. However, after settling down, he pummelled 67 runs off the next 29 balls, reminding everyone of his chasing prowess and effectively sealing a 4-wicket victory over Pakistan.
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Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former captain of Pakistan, expressed his admiration for Kohli's unbeaten innings and claimed that the 33-year-old is in a league of his own with a remarkable ability to win on his own, particularly when the chips are down.
“All credit for the (victory of) Indian team should be given to Virat Kohli. The way he played was fantastic. Virat is only this type of player and it’s not like that he did something which he has not done or can’t do. He played well and it was a superb knock. He has the potential that he can win matches single-handedly.“There are many players who can win matches single-handedly.
Some players cannot win matches despite scoring runs but there are some players who win such matches for their teams single-handedly and in pressure. Virat (Kohli) is such a player and has his own class," said Inzamam on his Youtube channel ‘The Match Winner’.
Inzamam further stated that the star batter’s return to form can help the Men in Blue end their nine-year ICC trophy drought this year.
“The Indian team is dangerous only on one condition: when Virat plays brilliantly. I am telling this clearly. There are many factors and people term other batsmen as dangerous but for me, Virat is zabardast (magnificent). If India has to win the World Cup, Virat’s performance like this can win them the World Cup.
“If they think that they can win the World Cup without Virat, it’s not possible. Indian (team) performance is related to only one person. That’s Virat Kohli. India was struggling for a long time due to Virat’s poor form. Now he has come back (in good form) and it gives India an edge in upcoming matches in the World Cup," he remarked.
Needing 48 runs off the last 18 balls and an over from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf still to go, it was a difficult task.
But in the penultimate over, Kohli whose position in the playing XI was in jeopardy until a few months back if some critics were to be believed, struck a back-of-the-length slower ball off Rauf for a six down the ground before hitting another one over fine leg.
Pandya and Dinesh Karthik were both out in Mohammad Nawaz's very dramatic last over, with the former being dismissed for a well-made 40 off 37 balls.
But on the last ball of the match, Ravichandran Ashwin was on strike and had to score a run to seal the deal. But instead of looking for a quick single, he lofted the ball over mid-off for a boundary.
The former cricketer hailed the partnership between Virat and Hardik before lauding the former’s two consecutive sixes in the penultimate over.
“Both Virat and Pandya were playing well in the partnership. The main thing was that Kohli maintained the flow after the fall of Pandya’s wicket. He did not let pressure overtake his mind. He had the pressure that he is the well set batsman but the way he played the last two overs was his class. The two sixes he hit off Haris Rauf, that was some class.
“The good thing for India is that Virat has regained his form. And it happened in such a match against Pakistan. It could have happened in any World Cup match. But it happened in the first match against Pakistan only," concluded Inzamam.
(IANS INPUTS)
