5 underrated knocks of Virat Kohli in ODIs

1) 35 against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup Final

Virat Kohli stitched an important 83-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir to steady the Indian ship

A 22-year-old Indian batsman, playing in his first World Cup final, that too in front of the home crowd, came to bat at a time when India were 2 down for 31 and had just lost Sachin Tendulkar who was batting brilliantly till then.

With the daunting target of 275 set by Sri Lanka ahead and umpteen chants from thousands of spectators- the young man was surely under a lot of pressure that day. But the Delhi lad surely calmed the nerves of the millions of Indian fans that day with his crucial 83-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir to steady the ship for India.

His contribution of 35 might not look that big, but given the situation India were in, things could have become extremely difficult for India had they lost another wicket.

But he didn’t let that happen. The young batsman made sure that India remained on course to lift the trophy in front of their jubilant home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

However, amidst all the euphoria surrounding the skipper Dhoni’s 91 and Gambhir’s 97, no one quite acknowledged the impact Kohli’s knock had. Had it not been for the spectacular catch that Dilshan took off his own bowling, his innings would surely have lasted longer than it did.