The return of Kohli

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Kohli proved yet again just what he is capable of after propelling India to a nail-biting victory against Pakistan at the T20I World Cup, in a match where Pakistan made no mistakes. Haris Rauf proved his dominance on the pitch that he is familiar with and dismissed both Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav with fast-paced deliveries, with no boundary in 14 balls as Kohli and Pandya partnered up.

As Kohli patiently waited for the bowlers to make the invariable mistake that he could take advantage of, he was soon faced with no options as India reached the stage of 28 runs needed from 8 balls. Therefore, when Rauf bowled a suprising, slow ball, Kohli let loose to swing his bat and deliver a six.

India had faced a difficult game with the loss of 4 wickets and Kohli’s diminished competence against spinners, coupled with India scoring just 31 for 3 in the powerplay, and only 23 runs in five crucial overs.

The risks were thus taken by Kohli and Pandya at the very end, with Mohammed Nawaz taking over to bowl some of the final overs and subsequently dismissing Pandya. However, he made some errors with a no-ball and a wide, while also collecting Dinesh Karthik’s wicket. In the fifth ball of the 19^th over, Kohli showed his mettle and the reason behind the unwavering support of Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid.

As India reached the requirement of 28 runs off 8 balls, Pandya discussed with Kohli that what was needed next was not one but two sixes, before Kohli proceeded to do so and cement his position as King. Later, he was unable to explain how he mustered the shots and attributes it to a thing “that was just meant to be”.