5 times Virat Kohli owned the Pakistan bowling attack
When Virat Kohli took the under-19 team to a World Cup win in 2008, he was touted to be the next big batsman in Indian colours. However, he had to wait for a substantial amount of time as Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina made their ODI debuts ahead of him.
Today, he captains one of them and the other is no longer a part of the Indian squad.
The story of Kohli’s meteoric rise in the ranks of Indian cricket is fairly straightforward - every chapter tells a tale of a match-winning knock and every section constitutes of consistent performances against top sides in high-pressure situations.
A clash against Pakistan is probably the pinnacle of ‘high-pressure’ situation for any Indian cricketer. Kohli has been exceptional in that regard. Not only has he played match-winning knocks against India’s arch-rivals but has also impressed cricket pundits all over the world with his ability to soak pressure and infuse it in elevating his game.
Let us look at the five times Kohli appeased the Pakistan bowling attack in the biggest of ICC events. He was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ in all these games.
#5 ICC World Twenty20 – Colombo, 2012
Pakistan had put up a meagre total of 128/10 in 19.4 overs at the end of the first innings. The total looked easily accessible for the strong Indian batting line-up.
However, the strong bowling unit of their neighbours was capable of putting these strong batsmen in a diorama of trouble – a couple of quick wickets at the top of the order could have rattled their psyche while chasing the tricky target.
When Gautam Gambhir fell for a duck at 1-1, in came Kohli, a chase-master in making. He had already conquered two mammoth totals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that year in two sensational ODI matches. However, his T20 exploits were yet to be unleashed.
He successfully weathered the storm at the start of his innings when Raza Hasan was breathing fire with his fast-paced deliveries. Blending attack with caution, he constructed a beautiful knock of 78 from just 61 balls while successfully conquering the Pakistan attack.
He remained not out with nine boundaries and two sixes at the end of it all.
His part-time bowling too scalped wickets in the match. Mohammad Hafeez was bowled for 15 at the top of the innings with his right-arm medium bowling.