When the pressure is mounting, when the stakes are high, Virat Kohli almost always steps up in World Cup encounters.
On a two-paced, tricky pitch in Chennai, with India reeling at the score of 2/3, having lost Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer in the first 12 balls of the chase, India needed just one big partnership to kick-start their World Cup 2023 campaign on a positive note against Australia.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul gave that partnership. The duo took India from 2/3 to 167/3 before which Virat Kohli got out, missing on his 48th ODI century by just 15 runs, but by then he had put India in a winning position after a nervy start.
Kohli and Rahul forged a fourth-wicket stand of 165 (215). Kohli did have a slice of luck today: a couple of times the ball just passed his outside edge when he went chasing for it outside the off-stump; the biggest good fortune he got today was through Mitchell Marsh, who dropped a regulation catch of Kohli off a Hazlewood bouncer.
With no pressure of the required rate as the target was small, Virat Kohli didn’t need to take any risks. He batted in his typical fashion of running hard and picking up quick singles and twos. Of the 85 runs he scored from 116 balls, only 6 balls were hit to the fence, and no six in his innings. Rahul, too, batted similarly and only took on the aggressive mode once Kohli was dismissed with the victory within reach.
Memes galore on social media as Virat Kohli stepped up once again after the top-order’s failures.
Here are some funny memes on Virat Kohli’s king-size knock against Australia:
Man of the match KL Rahul, who remained not out on 97, said: “(On walking out at 2/3) Quite honestly not a lot of conversation, I thought I’d get a good shower and get a break. I was just trying to get my breath back. Virat said there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a bit of help for the pacers with the new ball, and then the spinners also. In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part and that helped quite a bit. The ball also skidded on better. However, it was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat as well. It was a good cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers.”
