4 times Virat Kohli bowled in an ODI World Cup match ft. 2023
Virat Kohli made headlines when he completed the over for an injured Hardik Pandya against Bangladesh in the 2023 World Cup.
The Delhi-born cricketer is mostly associated with his batting exploits. However, he has bowled quite a bit, especially early on in his career. When he started his cricketing journey, he considered himself an all-rounder who could bowl at medium pace.
With that being said, he has turned into an out-and-out batter as his career has progressed, much like many other cricketers of his generation, such as Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith.
On that note, let's look at four instances when Virat Kohli bowled in an ODI World Cup match.
#1 India vs Bangladesh - 2023 World Cup
Hardik Pandya's introduction in the 9th over of the match was cut short as he suffered a twisted ankle in an attempt to stop the ball after the third delivery of his over. Pandya had to go off the field, and Virat Kohli completed the over.
The 34-year-old bowled the remaining three balls to finish the ninth over of the innings. Fortunately, the over ended with Kohli conceding just two singles after Pandya was struck for a couple of boundaries by Litton Das.
#2 India vs Australia - 2015 World Cup
The last time Virat Kohli rolled his arms over in the quadrennial tournament was in the semi-final of the 2015 edition. India were playing Australia, and Umesh Yadav was taken to the cleaners by the Aussie batters in the first innings of the encounter.
Kohli bowled a solitary over early on in the innings, shortly after Yadav had been smacked by Steve Smith for four boundaries. Kohli conceded seven runs before MS Dhoni turned to his spinners. He was dismissed for just one run in the second innings as Australia marched into the World Cup final.
#3 India vs Sri Lanka - 2011 World Cup
Virat Kohli became a world champion when India beat Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 edition. The match is often known for Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni's match-winning knocks, but a lesser-known fact is that Kohli bowled an over in that game.
Both Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli were asked to bowl three overs in total in a bid to fill in as the sixth bowling option. Kohli bowled the 36th over of the match to Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera, conceding six runs in the process.
#4 India vs Australia - 2011 World Cup
Virat Kohli's first ODI World Cup was back in 2011, back when he still used to bowl in the nets regularly. Kohli was given the ball for one over against Australia in the quarterfinal in an attempt to complete Munaf Patel's quota of 10 overs, who had been a bit on the expensive side that day.
The medium pacer was bowling to Ricky Ponting and Cameron White in the 36th over of the match. He managed to limit the damage and conceded just six runs in his over. Although he didn't have a memorable outing with the bat, India won the match by five wickets with 14 balls to spare.