IND vs PAK 2022: "I still had this feeling that he was going to pull something out of the hat" - Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli's last-gasp heroics against Pakistan
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has lavished praise on Virat Kohli's exceptional innings against Pakistan in the Super 12 stages of the T20 World Cup 2022.
The ace batter scored an unbeaten 82 off 52 deliveries and helped India to win a last-ball thriller over their arch-rivals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.
Kohli brought India back into the contest against all odds against a potent Pakistani bowling unit. He hit two consecutive sixes off Haris Rauf in the penultimate over to massively bring the equation down and steer India to victory in the dying moments of the contest.
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Athers, Wardy and Morgs discuss India vs Pakistan and 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 Virat Kohli innings... has there been a better #T20WorldCup match? 🔥 https://t.co/9jEMVF1ppI
Admitting that he still had faith in Kohli to turn things around despite 28 runs being required off eight balls at one stage, Ponting told journalist Vimal Kumar:
"Probably no one in Indian cricket has experienced more success than Virat Kohli. So, you know, slim as the chances were the other night, I was sitting at home on the couch watching eight balls to go with him on strike, I still had this feeling that he was going to pull something out of the hat and he did."
Kohli has had a memorable T20 World Cup 2022 campaign so far, scoring three fifties across four innings at a mammoth average of 220. He is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing edition and overtook Mahela Jayawardene to become the all-time highest run-scorer in T20 World Cup history.
"I doubt if there is another player on that side that could have got them over the line at the end" - Ricky Ponting brands Kohli's knock as unique and non-replicable
The former Indian skipper ended up scoring more than half of the 160-run target set by Pakistan in the historic encounter last month.
The rest of the Indian batting unit crumbled under Pakistan's pace attack, while only Hardik Pandya assisted from the other end.
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Opining that no other player could have got the team to victory from such a perilous situation, Ponting said:
"I doubt if there is another player on that side that could have got them over the line at the end against Pakistan. T20, I think, is a game for the older, smarter guys, the people who have been there and done it all and experienced it all before."
Ponting added:
"When you come into big events like this, you need your experienced star players standing up in big moments if you want to win. That's what I said about Virat, I think we saw that in the first game against Pakistan."
The Men in Blue's win over their arch-rivals arguably became the tipping point in terms of group dynamics. India are staring towards a berth in the semi-finals while Pakistan are on the brink of elimination.
Is Virat Kohli's knock against Pakistan the greatest T20I innings of all time? Let us know what you think.