Virat Kohli’s cricketing career is full of magnificent knocks across formats. But the one he played against Pakistan on Sunday in Melbourne will always be remembered as one of the best because it certainly rescued India from a humiliating defeat. During the chase of 160, the men in blue were reduced to 31 for 4 in 6.1 overs when Kohli and Hardik Pandya took the matter into their hands. The duo stitched a 113-run stand for the fifth wicket that turned out to be the stepping stone in India’s 4-wicket win against the arch-rivals.
Kohli anchored the chase with an unbeaten 82 off 53 deliveries with the help of 4 sixes and 6 boundaries. His magnificent innings not just earned him plaudits from the Indian cricket fraternity but the likes of Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar heaped praise on the ace Indian batter.
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Meanwhile, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal also joined the bandwagon, raving about Virat in his latest YouTube video. The former opined that no other batter could have thrived under so much pressure. He added that had it been the Pakistan team, they surely would have lost the game.
“Had it been any other batter in his place, the match would not have come this far. Honestly, if this was our (Pakistan) batting we would have lost it by 30-40 runs. We can’t handle such pressure. I think all our young boys (in Pakistan) who are playing in U15 and U19 camps should be shown the entire innings of Virat Kohli. They will get coaching from watching his innings and how he finished the match,” Akmal said.
India had a poor start during the chase of 160. Naseem Shah drew the first blood by knocking over KL Rahul whereas Haris Rauf got the better of captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. After Axar Patel got run out, Pandya joined hands with Kohli to rescue India from the early collapse.
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“The kind of shots he played against Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz in the last over. Only a batter of his stature can play something like this in modern-day cricket. The way Kohli smashed Rauf for a six straight down the ground, nobody can do that,” Akmal added.
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