Virat Kohli was on Rohit Sharma’s shoulders, being cradled and swung in celebration, respect, and admiration, with close to 100,000 ecstatic fans screaming their heads off. A moment ago, Kohli was almost in tears, first punching the ground, then taking his helmet off, and raising his index finger to the skies. A release of pent-up emotions after the greatest innings of his career.
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It was some sight. Kohli un-bottling, Sharma serenading — two men who are really close friends but have, over the years, acknowledged each other’s greatness.
In the tournament’s most-watched game, chasing a tricky Pakistan total of 160, Kohli’s 53 ball 82 took India home. The win in this high pressure opening game was a perfect lift-off for India in the World T20 in Australia. Kohli’s knock that will be talked about for years had a couple of sixes — against pacer Haris Rauf in the 19th over — that have already gained iconic status.
Bromance ♥️🫂🤝🏼#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK | @ImRo45 | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/gjDQcu0Ppn
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— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2022
The context elevated this knock to greater heights. A month ago, he was in the dumps, mentally, game-wise, and, by his own words, “faking intensity”; the game had become a chore. Then there were the post-captaincy blues. He had effectively alleged the selectors and the then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had lied that he was informed to not quit the T20 captaincy. He had talked about former players who offered advice on television, and not to him personally; he thought that was dishonest. Once at the IPL, after yet another failure, he had even lamented at the gods, at his fate. He took a break, didn’t touch a bat for a month, and luckily came back with all the rancour erased and love for the game returned.
“Till today, I have always said that Mohali was my best innings against Australia. But today I will count this one higher because of the magnitude of the game and what the situation was. Hardik kept pushing me. The crowd has been phenomenal. You guys kept backing me and I am grateful for your support,” he thanked the crowd.
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Kohli vs Kohli was a distraction to the main box-office: Kohli vs Pakistan or any other opposition. On match-eve, he told the screaming fans not to distract him. The focus showed in the game. Before the start of the game against Pakistan, coach Rahul Dravid bottled the Kohli spirit and sprayed it at the team by asking him to address the team huddle at the start of the game. Kohli spoke feverishly, passionately, and a team that had seemed emotional after the national anthem — 80,000 or so fans too joined in – refocussed after his speech.
Turning back time! The chase master @imVkohli is back and what a match to showcase his skills. What a game we have witnessed today!
Congratulations #TeamIndia 🇮🇳#INDvsPAK2022 @BCCI @ICC pic.twitter.com/3C0lU8zXfY
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— Jay Shah (@JayShah) October 23, 2022
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It turned out that not just him, but all the players whose selections were either questioned or their recent performances trolled rose to the occasion. The seniors like spinner R Ashwin and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who were trusted, and Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh, who were trolled. And Dravid and Rohit Sharma saving up Hardik Pandya by not over bowling him in the recent past to let him do his thing on the big day.
Arshdeep Singh, the boy who is rapidly maturing and already caught in troll wars after a drop catch against Pakistan in Asia Cup a few months ago, had his redemption with a twin strike to take out the ever-dangerous Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Ashwin, whose white-ball career was revived by Rohit Sharma not without widespread mutterings, was preferred ahead of a more conventional choice of the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. He delivered, with a mix of his carrom-balls that he prefers, doing it in his own way, tying the Pakistani batsmen in the middle.
And who can forget his calmness right at the end with the bat: first remaining still to let a wide go down the leg side and then calmly scooping the final ball over mid-off with the focus more on timing than power to let Kohli and India have their winning moment.
Then there was Mohammad Shami. Almost forgotten for more than a year and remembered after Jasprit Bumrah’s injury, he had had just one over, however good it was, in the warm-up. They (finally) trusted him and he repaid it with a good tight spell.
And who did India give their final over? Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the man who was trolled for his poor 19th overs in the recent times. He was spot on, not allowing Pakistan to get away.
If trust was repaid, so did the tactic of saving up Hardik Pandya. “My body is fine, I will be bowling, don’t worry,” he said before the toss. And he walked the talk with a fine bowling performance. Later, with the bat, he helped Kohli stay in, soak up the pressure and the hero of the day himself would be moved to say, “Hardik kept pushing me. He believed if we stay till the end we can win.”
However, it needed Kohli to do it. Hardik started the attack with two sixes off the left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz but was unable to attack the hard lengths that Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi hurled.
It needed Kohli’s imperious talent. He flat-batted Rauf for a six, took the hard length out of the bowler’s mind, made him bowl a tad fuller next ball and came up with a stunning swat for a “freaky” six, in his words.
Those two sixes in the 19th over turned the tide but Pandya fell, first ball, and yet again it was up to Kohli, who tonked a six, ran hard for three runs on a free-hit ball that had actually bowled him. It was a performance of a lifetime. No wonder he punched the ground, almost teared up, remained dazed afterwards and smiled like a child. “This is what I play for.”
His wife Anushka would later capture the moment and the context the best with a post on Instagram: “You have brought sooooo much joy in peoples lives tonight and that too on the eve of Diwali! You are a wonderful wonderful man, my love. … our daughter is too small to understand why her mother was dancing around and screaming wildly in the room, one day she will understand that her dad played his best innings that night which followed after a phase that was tough on him but he came out of it stronger and wiser than ever before!!” A sentiment no one can argue with.
