In what was a knock for the ages, Virat Kohli did one better than his Mohali epic against Australia – he himself attested to it and Rohit Sharma concurred – and lead India to victory in their Super 12 opener at the T20 World Cup 2022 against Pakistan in front of a 90,000-plus crowd at the MCG to make the Sunday memorable.
India found themselves in a hole at 31/4 while chasing 160 as the Pakistani fast bowlers threw thunderbolts which the Indian openers didn’t have an answer to; the dismissal of the openers followed a short counter-attack from Suryakumar Yadav before he too succumbed to the pace of Rauf and Axar Patel, promoted up the order, got run out.
Kohli and Hardik stemmed the flow of wickets and played conservatively for a while. At the 11-over mark, India was 54/4 and a Pakistani win looked more likely before the pair upped the ante and hammered Nawaz for three sixes and collected a boundary each in the next three overs. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah then delivered two good overs to leave India needing 48 in the last 3 overs.
This was the time Kohli turned his beast mode on – one which we’d seen in the past decade but had largely been missing in the last couple of years. As Hardik struggled to send the ball to the fence against the pacers, Kohli showed how it’d done: by blending power with timing and placement.
He stroked Shaheen Afridi for three fours in an over and then clattered Rauf for two sixes to bring the equation down to 16 runs needed in the last balls.
The last over turned out to be as chaotic as one could imagine – it included a wicket, six off a no-ball by Kohli, three byes off a free hit on which Kohli was bowled, and
.@imVkohli, it was undoubtedly the best innings of your life. It was a treat to watch you play, the six off the back foot in the 19th over against Rauf over long on was spectacular! 😮
Keep it going. 👍 #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/FakWPrStMg— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 23, 2022
Yaayyyy…Happyyy Deepawali
What an amazing game.High on emotions, but this is
probably the most brilliant T20 Innings i have ever seen, take a bow Virat Kohli . Chak De India #IndvsPak pic.twitter.com/3TwVbYscpa— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 23, 2022
The KING is back 👑
Take a bow, Virat Kohli 🙌#T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/OdAnbmso0h
— ICC (@ICC) October 23, 2022
What an excellent run chase !!
Kohli and the team pulled off a sensational win !
Enjoyed it.
— Jr NTR (@tarak9999) October 23, 2022
When the kingdom falls, the king rises… Take a bow King Kohli. #IndvsPak pic.twitter.com/aDdOJwoZnU
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) October 23, 2022
Hotstar viewership peaked at 18M – the highest ever recorded this year.
– King Kohli, the brand!
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 23, 2022
Take a bow @imVkohli 🙌🏽 An innings for the ages. Congratulations team India 🇮🇳👏🏽 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/Z4aXVfb2wV
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 23, 2022
Kept his cool @ashwinravi99 leaving that ball for a wide !!! What a game unbelievable!!’ #indiavspak is always more than a game ‘ it’s an emotion !!! 🇮🇳 greatness personified @imVkohli 👏
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 23, 2022
Virat Kohli you are the king 👑
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 23, 2022
The King. This was his best. #Kohli
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 23, 2022
Take a bow, Virat Kohli – you are a champion. pic.twitter.com/30tgrxprvm
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 23, 2022
Few months ago Virat Kohli wasn’t in the T20 World Cup team for many and in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022, he proved that he is still the King 👌 pic.twitter.com/5mvwoOT6pG
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 23, 2022
This is why I love this sport ❤️
What an exciting game of cricket between two great teams 🙌
🔝 performance @imVkohli bhai 💪#T20WC2022 #INDvsPAK2022 #T20WC2022
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) October 23, 2022
Turning back time! The chase master @imVkohli is back and what a match to showcase his skills. What a game we have witnessed today!
Congratulations #TeamIndia 🇮🇳#INDvsPAK2022 @BCCI @ICC pic.twitter.com/3C0lU8zXfY
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) October 23, 2022
There is only one King @imVkohli
What a match ….Well Played India 🇮🇳
HAPPY DIWALI INDEED 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/jBgdzvauv2— Kartik Aaryan (@TheAaryanKartik) October 23, 2022
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! @imVkohli, what a terrific display of skills and temperament! That partnership with @hardikpandya7 changed the game. Spectacular win for India against the arch-rivals, Pakistan. Great start to the World Cup campaign. Well done #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/2TJoW0PsLw
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) October 23, 2022
Still can’t believe what I have seen. I thought that the game had gone out of reach after the 17th over, but what I saw in the last 3 overs was extremely surreal. Kohli taking down Shaheen & Haris, the 2 best bowlers of opposition, and then that last over. Outstanding stuff.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) October 23, 2022
another wicket. With one run needed on the last ball, Ashwin calmly chipped the last ball over mid-off to take India over the line.
Kohli got emotional after the victory.
Twitter too went into a chaotic meltdown after chase master Virat Kohli aced another chase – this time in another high-stakes encounter.
Here are some of the best tweets on Virat Kohli’s thunderous knock vs Pakistan:
