Virat Kohli’s stunning half-century lifted India to a four-wicket win on the final ball against arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match on Sunday.
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While it was R Ashwin who hit the winning runs in Mohammad Nawaz’s final over, it was Kohli’s unbeaten 82 and a 113-run partnership with Hardik Pandya (40) that helped India chase down a target of 160.
At one stage, India were tottering on 31/4 after the powerplay. But Man-of-the-match Kohli weaved the perfect T20 innings and went ballistic with the bat in the final overs to bring India home.
Kohli’s back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over against Haris Rauf was one of those quintessential game-changing moments.
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His knock not only drew applause from the opposition camp but also left his teammate Hardik Pandya in awe.
“Those 2 sixes from Virat Kohli were one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed, they were extremely crucial at that stage of the game. Else we would have had to do something more terrific,” said Pandya in the post-match press conference.
But he was also quick to point out how the experience helped their team, maneuver through the tough periods. “We have been in this situation earlier as well and all we had to do was believe in ourselves. I’ll use my brothers’ line even impossible says I am possible” said the India allrounder who scored 40 off 36 balls.
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Pandya revealed how he changed his thought process in such pressure-cooker situations and said, “I have overcome the fear of failure and now I don’t bother whats going to happen. I respect everyone’s opinion but for me, I have always enjoyed these high-pressure games.”
“I don’t want to perform in a dead rubber game where the team is already cruising through. I like to score those 40-50 which the team needs most.”
“I said it even if we lose I am proud of how we fought. As a team, we have worked hard. So even if we had lost I would have a smile. We gave everything and somewhere I have accepted sport will give ups and downs,” he added.
