India kickstarted their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in some style by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan and taking revenge for their loss last year in Dubai in the 2021 T20 WC.
Former captain Virat Kohli was at the forefront of this heist as India came back from 31/4 to pull off a stunning run chase of 160 on the last ball of the match.
Kohli played what he himself and most are calling his best T20 innings because of the situation and immense pressure, scoring 82 unbeaten runs off 53 balls with the help of 6 fours and 4 sixes and plenty of running between the wicket.
As soon as Ashwin hit the winning runs on the last ball when one run was required, the 90,000-plus MCG broke into raptures. And so did the Indian team contingent with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, and skipper Rohit Sharma running onto the field and Sharma even lifted Kohli on his shoulders in the middle of the ground.
Rahul Dravid’s badass celebration goes viral
At the sidelines, it was head coach Rahul Dravid who also broke into quite an animated celebration. Dravid is known for his calmness and composure amid turbulent circumstances. But such was the occasion, that even Dravid was pumped out, let out roars, and aggressively celebrated India’s epic win.
The ICC released a montage of the post-victory moments and Dravid’s reactions stood out.
You can watch it here:
A packed MCG chanting for Virat Kohli 🏟
Raw vision: Behind the scenes of India’s sensational win 📹
Goosebumps. #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/MNjmOLKO7r
— ICC (@ICC) October 23, 2022
After India were 31/4, Kohli shared a partnership of 113 runs in 78 balls with Hardik Pandya, who scored 40 off 37. With 48 required off the last three overs, Kohli turned on the heat, smoking Shaheen Afridi for three fours and Haris Rauf for 2 sixes before also hitting Nawaz for a six in the messy last over where India prevailed eventually.
Kohli ranked this innings as his best in T20Is for India, higher than his Mohali knock against Australia.
“Till today I have always said Mohali was my best innings, against Australia: I got 82 off 52 (51). Today I got 82 off 53. So they are exactly the same innings, but I think today I will count this one higher because of the magnitude of the game and what the situation was,” Kohli said.
India take on the Netherlands on Thursday at the SCG.
