World Cup T20: Virat Kohli's stunning 44-ball 72* takes India to finals
India cricketer Virat Kohli (L) reacts after hitting the final run as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R) looks on after winning the ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament second semi-final match between India and South Africa in The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on April 4, 2014.
South Africa would not have thought that they would lose, most definitely not this way after posting a total of 172 on the board. Virat Kohli, however, had other ideas. Coming into bat at the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket, with the score at 39-1 in 3.5 overs, not once did he look jittery. His clinical 72* off 44 helped India, aided by valuable cameos from Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina, complete a clinical win after a disappointing bowling performance earlier in the evening.
Batting first, after a shaky start, a 71-run 3rd wicket partnership from Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy propelled South Africa to an imposing score of 172. If not for Ravichandran Ashwin, who bowled an outstanding spell of 4-0-22-3 picking up the crucial wickets of Hashim Amla, Du Plessis and AB de Villiers, things would have gone pretty worse for the MS Dhoni-led team.
Here are the reactions from the post-match presentation ceremony:
MS Dhoni:
“There was a sense of calm in the dressing room when we went out to bat. Most of the thoughts were positive. Everybody saw that the wicket was better than those we have played on, and they believed they could chase this down. It is not just the self-belief, but the belief in each other that is crucial. There are not many who are as consistent as Virat. It is great to have him at No. 3. He grabs his opportunities. Something everyone needs to learn from him. Ashwin was brilliant. We kept him back for AB. We didn’t want to give him pace. The least I could offer Virat was the winning shot so I played out the last ball of the 19th over without a run.“
Virat Kohli, the Man-of-the-Match:
“Today was one of those days when I had to keep my cool. Against a world-class attack, with boundaries not coming, it wasn’t coming. In Twenty20, I look at target in number of runs and overs to go, not runs and balls to go. Overs make it looks easier. I had to keep telling myself that I could make up later. I told Raina let’s try to finish in the 19th over. We don’t want to give Dale eight runs to defend in the final over. He can bowl six good yorkers. I wasn’t feeling too good before this game, had some body weakness, so it is good to go out and let it all out (with that celebration).”
Faf Du Plessis:
“I thought we had batted excellently. It was a very good score against a good attack on this wicket. Ash bowled really well. Credit to our batters to put up a good total. Runs on the board in the semi-final is what you ask for. The bad thing is, MS and his team know how to chase. They have done it many times. They pace their innings really well. Virat played a great innings. You have to credit. I thought we could have been better with the ball. The extras we conceded. If you have to win the World Cup, you have to get those one per-centers right. Unfortunately tonight, you can expect about five wides under pressure, but nine is too much. An up-and-down campaign for us. Our guys fought brilliantly, but India deserve to be in the final.”
Scorecard:
South Africa:
Quinton de Kock c Dhoni b Kumar 6
Hashim Amla b Ashwin 22
Faf du Plessis b Ashwin 58
JP Duminy not out 45
AB de Villiers c RG Sharma b Ashwin 10
David Miller not out 23
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 3, nb 1) 8
Total (for four wickets in 20 overs) 172
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (de Kock, 0.4 overs), 2-44 (Amla, 5.1), 3-115 (du Plessis, 13.5), 4-129 (de Villiers, 15.3)
Bowling:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-33-1
Mohit Sharma 3-0-34-0
Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-22-3
Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-8-0
Suresh Raina 4-0-35-0
Amit Mishra 3-0-36-0
India:
Rohit Sharma c du Plessis b Hendricks 24
Ajinkya Rahane c de Villiers b Parnell 32
Virat Kohli not out 72
Yuvraj Singh c de Villiers b Imran Tahir 18
Suresh Raina c du Plessis b Hendricks 21
Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 0
Extras (w 9) 9
Total (for four wickets in 19.1 overs) 176
Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Rohit, 3.5 overs), 2-77 (Rahane, 9.3), 3-133 (Yuvraj, 15.6), 4-167 (Raina, 18.3)
Bowling:
JP Duminy 3-0-29-0
Albie Morkel 2-0-17-0
Dale Steyn 3.1-0-36-0
Beuran Hendricks 4-0-31-2
Wayne Parnell 3-0-33-1
Imran Tahir 4-0-30-1
Match Details:
Toss: South Africa, chose to bat
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and Ian Gould (England)
TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford (Australia)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire: Richard Kettleborough (England)