Virat Kohli starred with an undefeated 82 as India defeated Pakistan in a last over thriller in Melbourne on Sunday. Kohli hit 6 fours and 4 sixes in an innings that harkened back to his most industrious period in T20 cricket.
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After the match, the former India captain had a reunion of sorts with former coach Ravi Shastri who handed him the Player of the Match award. With the rapturous Melbourne crowd cheering him on, it took a few seconds for Kohli to get a word in.
When he finally got a word in, he said, “It’s a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened. I am really lost for words. Hardik believed we can do it, if we stayed till the end.”
He also divulged their strategy in the middle against the Pakistan bowling lineup during the death overs, saying, “When Shaheen bowled from the pavilion end, that’s when we decided to take him down. Haris is their prime bowler, and I hit those two sixes.”
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“The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. From 28 in 8, it came down to 16 to 6. It’s just instinctively I saw it, told myself to stay still. The one at long-on was unexpected, it was a back-of-a-length slower ball. and the next one, I just swung my bat at it and it swung over fine leg. Standing here I just feel like it was meant to be.”
Kohli added that he will keep this innings a bit higher than the 82 against Australia that he scored in Mohali back in 2016. He also thanked the fans for their support before signing off.
“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 concluded.