IND vs PAK 2022: "He is a big-match player and played one of the best innings" - Inzamam-ul-Haq hails Virat Kohli
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq lauded Virat Kohli for crafting a brilliant knock against the Men in Green on Sunday in Melbourne at the 2022 T20 World Cup. The former national chief selector stated that Kohli always held the potential to play an innings like this.
Kohli, who earned the Player of the Match award, stayed unbeaten on 82 (53), taking India past Pakistan's total of 159. The Delhi batter joined hands with Hardik Pandya when India were struggling at 31-4 and put on 113 to put their team back on track. The Men in Blue won by four wickets on the last ball of the innings.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Inzamam stated that Pakistan had the match in the bag, but felt Kohli stole it with a magnificent knock. The former Pakistan batter conceded that the former Indian captain drove the game single-handedly.
He said:
"The way the situation was, Pakistan felt they should've won. With almost 50 runs required from the last three overs, Pakistan should've won it. But Virat Kohli deserves credit for the way he played. He is a big-match player and played one of the best innings. He always had the potential to win the match for India single-handedly.
"Plenty of players can win games single-handedly. Some players can score but not win games and vice-versa. Few others do it single-handedly. While a handful of them win even pressure matches single-handedly. Virat showed his class today because he took the game alone."
Kohli's innings contained six fours and four sixes and India's overhaul of 160 meant they scaled their highest successful run-chase against Pakistan in T20s. In the process, he also became the highest run-getter in T20Is.
"The way Kohli played the last two overs amazed me" - Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam also observed how well Kohli handled the pressure and kept the momentum going even after Pandya's dismissal, adding:
"His partnership with Hardik Pandya was outstanding. However, Kohli didn't let the flow stop after Pandya's departure. He didn't let the pressure get to him. Instead, the pressure increased, given the fact that he was alone. The way Kohli played the last two overs amazed me. The way he hit Haris Rauf for two sixes, it was his class. There are no second thoughts on it."
Special win ✅
Special performance ✅
And fair to say, the social media was abuzz 👌 👌
#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK https://t.co/DCP0W78kVu
The victory was also India's seventh against Pakistan in the T20 World Cups, with the latter winning only one.
India will next face the Netherlands on October 27 while Pakistan play Zimbabwe.