A fan's take on two of Kohli's best knocks

Virat Kohli (Source: AP Newsroom)

23rd October, 2022 will forever be etched in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. India facing Pakistan, and in a chase of 160 runs they were 31/4 in just the 7th over of the innings. 

Then Kohli came out and did what he does the best. Played an unreal innings in a high pressure chase and took India to a remarkable win against their arch-rivals. 

But as said above this is not the first time Kohli has done this. In the 2016 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Virat Kohli played a similar knock against Australia at Mohali. In fact the man himself compared the two knocks after yesterday's match. 

Let us take a look at his innings against Australia

82 (51)* vs Australia in Mohali, 2016

India was batting second in this match also. They were tasked with chasing down 160 runs, but the team failed to get off to a good start. 

Virat Kohli vs Australia (Source: AP Newsroom)

India lost their first wicket in the 4th over of the innings when the team's score was 23 runs in the form of Shikhar Dahwan. Kohli walked out to the crease and started doing what he does. he rotated the strike and kept the scoreboard ticking for India. 

Wickets kept falling from the other end but Kohli looked determined. At one stage India were 49 for 3 in just 7.4 overs. From there on he got the support of Yuvraj Singh and took the score 94 for 4 by the end of the 14th over. Then MS Dhoni joined him in the middle and the duo took India home in the last over of the match. India emerged victorious by 6 wickets. 

Similarities of the two knocks

• In both the matches the Indian openers were not able to give good starts to the team. 
• Even if Kohli was batting at one end, India kept losing wickets from the other end and the pressure kept mounting on the team. 
• He got Yuvraj against Australia and Hardik against Pakistan to support him, but for majority of the innings it was a one man show by Kohli. 
• He scored the same number of runs in both the matches- 82. 

In both the matches Kohli displayed that under pressure there is no one better than him in modern cricket. Both the knocks were against high voltage oppositions - Pakistan and Australia. 

These two knocks are just two of the many occasions where Kohli justified his tag of 'The King'. We hope to see many more knock from the living legend for many more years as cricket fans. 

Also Read: 'The King' rightfully reclaims the throne