Virat Kohli played one of the greatest T20 World Cup innings ever against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday, October 23. His sensational unbeaten 82 off just 53 balls ensured Team India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the unlikeliest of fashions.
The Men in Blue were under immense pressure, reeling at 31/4 and it looked like Pakistan would beat them for the second time in a row in the T20 World Cups. However, that wasn't to be as Virat Kohli once again proved why he is arguably the greatest T20I batter ever.
Fans and former cricketers were thrilled to see Kohli pull off an incredible heist for India. Some even hailed him as the true GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in the shortest format.
Former Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra tweeted:
"When the kingdom falls, the king rises … Take a bow King Kohli. #IndvsPak"
Here are some of the reactions:
Virat Kohli & Hardik Pandya's partnership kept the match alive for India
The momentum seemed to have shifted towards Pakistan as their tail added some valuable runs towards the end to take them to 159 in the first innings. That confidence was seen in their bowling as the Men in Green came out all guns blazing.
Although Shaheen Afridi's spell was seen off by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, they didn't last long against the brilliance of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah respectively. The in-form Suryakumar Yadav briefly showed some promise, but fell for just 15 runs.
Axar Patel's run-out seemed to tilt the game massively in Pakistan's favor as India still needed 129 runs. But Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya put together a crucial 113-run stand for the fifth wicket and kept them in the game.
The duo weren't going hammer and tongs, but just found boundaries at the right time to keep the chase alive. Kohli shifted gears in the penultimate over and smashed Haris Rauf for a couple of sixes to bring the equation down to just 16 off six balls.
With 13 runs needed from three balls, all seemed lost, but Kohli hit a six off a no-ball from Mohammad Nawaz that turned the game decisively in India's favor. Nawaz couldn't handle the pressure and Ravichandran Ashwin hit the winning runs off the last ball of the contest to give India a win for the ages.
It was an incredible match settled by a truly wonderful innings from Kohli.
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