As Virat Kohli gears up to play his 100th T20 international, we take a look at some of his finest performances so far:
1) 82* vs Australia, 2016 T20 World Cup (Mohali)
2016 was undoubtedly one of Kohli’s best years so far. One of the memorable displays of Kohli’s talented batting was against Australia at the T20 World Cup, for a place in the semis. The Indian team had a challenging score to chase -116 – and with Yuvraj Singh’s injured ankle, and other top-tier batsmen already out during the powerplay, the responsibility for India’s performance was taken up by Kohli and Dhoni. Even when the required run rate jumped to 13 in the 18th over, Kohli expertly guided India to a well-deserved win.
2) 72* vs South Africa, 2014 T20 World Cup Semi-Final (Dhaka)
Kohli entered this match when India needed 173 runs to reach the finals. With a combination of steady run scoring, deflection of tricky balls, and clever risk taking, Kohli was able to successfully lead India to a much celebrated win. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the match was Dhoni’s gesture of allowing Kohli to take the final shot, to honour his contribution to the win.
3) 94* vs West Indies, 1st T20 international, 2019 (Hyderabad)
Chasing 208 runs, this was a difficult innings for Kohli, who seemed to lose his trademark confidence as he initially struggled to score 20, off 20 balls. However, with crowd support, and determination, he was able to revive his performance in the 15th over and hit a half-century. This was followed by more power shots, which ultimately led him to achieving his best T20 international score in the process. Kohli’s stellar performance was also a fitting response to Kesrick Williams, who had dismissed Kohli in 2017 with his trademark celebration.
4) 70* vs West Indies, 3rd T20 international in 2019 (Mumbai)
Coming up as the 4th batsmen, Kohli scored his fastest T20 international 50, off 21 balls. Most of the Indian team members seemed to thoroughly enjoy the challenge of the match, with Kohli dominating against Kieron Pollard, to ultimately grant India a final score of 240. Kohli’s performance also led to a run rate of 241.37, which remains his highest in T20s.
5) 55* vs Pakistan, 2016 T20 World Cup (Kolkata)
With rain reducing the number of overs to 18, India was in for a challenge as they chased a 118 runs. After 3 players were dismissed for a mere 12 runs, it fell on Kohli to save the day. He started out with controlled shots and then let loose against Pakistan’s lethal bowlers including Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and Mohammed Amir. When he finally scored his fifty, he bowed to Sachin Tendulkar, and led India to a victory with 13 balls remaining.
6) 90* vs Australia, 1st T20 international in 2016 (Adelaide)
Marking one of his most power-packed performances, Kohli partnered with Suresh Raina to skillfuly score runs with a combination of both energy and smoothness. His unstoppable performance led to a final score of 190 against top bowlers, such as Shane Warne, Kane Richardson and Cameron Boyce.
Read MoreTeam | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 52 |
Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | -8 | 51 |
West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -25 | 31 |
Leicester City | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 66 |
West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | -3 | 55 |
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RC Strasbourg | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 28 |
Dijon | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | -29 | 34 |
Olympique Lyonnais | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -13 | 33 |
Excelsior AC Roubaix | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 30 |
AS Monaco | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 39 | 79 |
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 5 | 13 | 16 | -26 | 28 |
Hannover 96 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | -12 | 27 |
VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 39 |
Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 34 |
1899 Hoffenheim | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 44 |
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AC Monza | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 52 |
Verona | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | -7 | 25 |
Lanerossi Vicenza | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | -2 | 36 |
Pro Patria | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | -26 | 21 |
Udinese | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 32 |
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Real Sociedad | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -9 | 30 |
Cadiz CF | 34 | 13 | 3 | 18 | -16 | 29 |
Real Madrid | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 39 | 84 |
CD Malaga | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | -27 | 19 |
Almeria | 38 | 3 | 12 | 23 | -32 | 21 |
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