“Hello, Isaac Newton? Could you help us define a new law of physics?” - Anand Mahindra wittily reacts to Virat Kohli’s incredible fielding effort
Renowned Indian businessman Anand Mahindra reacted to Virat Kohli’s sensational fielding effort to save a six during the third India vs Afghanistan T20I in Bengaluru in a rather witty manner. He wondered whether there could be a new law of physics to define the phenomenon of ‘anti-gravity’.
In the 17th over of Afghanistan’s chase, Afghanistan batter Karim Janat received a half-tracker from Indian off-spinner Washington Sundar, which he tried to launch over long-on. Janat made a decent connection and the ball appeared set to land beyond the ropes for a maximum.
Kohli, however, timed his jump perfectly to catch the ball and threw it back in time, just before tumbling beyond the boundary. With his acrobatic effort, he saved five crucial runs, which made a big difference in the end as the match ended in a tie.
Taking to his official X handle on Thursday, January 18, Mahindra shared a picture of Kohli’s brilliant save on the boundary and captioned it:
“Hello, Isaac Newton? Could you help us define a new law of physics to account for this phenomenon of anti-gravity??”
Kohli was dismissed for a duck early in the India innings, falling to Fareed Ahmad as he miscued a pull. However, he made a significant contribution on the field. Apart from the spectacular save, he also took a superb running catch to dismiss Najibullah Zadran (5) off Avesh Khan’s bowling.
Speaking of the third T20I, India won the toss and batted first in the dead rubber. The hosts lost their first four wickets for only 22 runs; Fareed Ahmad claimed three of the wickets to fall. However, Rohit Sharma (121* off 69) and Rinku Singh (69* off 39) played excellent knocks to lift the Men in Blue in 212/4.
Afghanistan responded with 212/6 as Gulbadin Naib clobbered 55* off 23, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50 off 32), Ibrahim Zadran (50 off 41) and Mohammad Nabi (34 off 16) also chipped in with key contributions.
Two Super Overs were needed to decide the fate of the third T20I, with Team India eventually coming out on top.
Virat Kohli won the Fielder of the Series medal
While Kohli did not score too many runs in the series against Afghanistan, he won the Fielder of the Series medal, which was awarded to him by fielding coach T Dilip.
Announcing Kohli as the winner, Dilip urged the younger cricketers to imbibe the veteran cricketer’s intensity.
"He took two medals in the World Cup. And I still remember in West Indies, when he told me he doesn't want to stand in slips, wanted to in short or fine-leg; challenging the youngsters, that he wants to be the best in the World Cup, and he showed that. This is the intensity the man gives to the team. He not only does his job well, but apart from that, he inspires everyone,” Dilip said in a BCCI video.
While Kohli missed the first T20I due to personal reasons, he contributed 29 off 16 in the second match.