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Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: Relive King Kohli's Underrated T20I Knock of 2016

Anurag Dasgupta

Kohli in action Vs Pakistan [Source: @ImTanujSingh/X.Com] Kohli in action Vs Pakistan [Source: @ImTanujSingh/X.Com]

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Virat Kohli doesn't have the power of Chris Gayle or Rohit Sharma, but his finesse and the ability of finding gaps at will makes him one of the best T20I batters of all time. A genuine match-winner in the shortest form of the game, Kohli has played some mind-boggling knocks in this format.

However, today on his birthday, we relive his underrated T20I knock, which came against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2016.

Pakistan knocked out for paltry 83

Just 83 runs in 20 overs as the Pakistan batters faced a hostile Indian bowling and couldn't do much with the bat. Surprisingly, Sher-e-Bangla Stadium produced a seaming deck as the Pakistan batters found it hard to get going.

The top-4 batters departed for just 35 runs on the board, and the Men in Green lost half the battle. Sarfaraz Ahmed, the wicket-keeper batter tried to resurrect the innings with a gritty 25, but that wasn't enough as the side ended on a below-par 83. Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 8.

Amir wreaks havoc but King Kohli steers India home

Now there is a reason this is an underrated knock. This was not the typical T20I innings where Kohli would have played at a higher strike-rate, but the situation demanded him to stay till the end, which he almost did.

Pakistan's best bowler, Mohammad Amir decided to test the Indian batters as he ran riot as he knocked over Rohit Sharma (0), Ajinkya Rahane (0), and Suresh Raina (1) to put India in a spot of bother. This is when Kohli came to life and on a green top, played some delightful cover-drives to give India some hope.

At time he did struggle, but in a battle of supremacy against Amir, he came out on top. While Yuvraj Singh (14 off 32) struggled to even time the ball, Virat Kohli churned out runs easily and took India closer to victory. However, at 49, Mohammad Sami got his prized wicket, but by the time Kohli departed, the match was almost over as MS Dhoni sealed the victory.