'October 23 Will Always be Special'-Virat Kohli Looks Back at MCG Knock Against Pakistan

Known as the King, Virat Kohli came into his own in India’s T20 World Cup opener which took place against Pakistan at the iconic MCG. In that tense match, India were on the brink, staring down the barrel after they were reduced to 31/4. That was when Kohli took things into his own hands and smashed an unbeaten 82 runs to take his team home.

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After almost 40 days, Kohli chose to reflect on one of his best knocks in T20 cricket, with a social media post that is already going viral. The post shows Kohli walking back towards the pavilion. He captioned the post: “October 23rd 2022 will always be special in my heart. Never felt energy like that in a cricket game before. What a blessed evening that was.”

King Kohli, as his fans call him, conjured up a magical and memorable unbeaten 82-run knock to anchor a chase of 160 which became tricky after India were left in tatters at 31 for 4.

Hardik Pandya, the most important cog in India’s T20 wheel, struck 40 off 37 balls in a partnership of 113. Kohli’s ability to win matches for India came under the scanner due to a prolonged lean patch and the long lost conquerer of bowling attack sang the perfect redemption song on the grandest stage.

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It started in the 19th over when he sent one from Haris Rauf on his hunches and pulled off two back-to-back sixes. Cricket indeed is a leveller as Rauf, after 22 splendid deliveries bowled two bad ones and it changed the complexion of the game.

With 16 needed off last six balls, Pandya holed out off Mohammed Nawaz’s bowling and with rule of crossover non-existent, Dinesh Karthik faced his first delivery and took a single.

With 14 needed off three balls, Nawaz’s juicy full-toss was dispatched for a six over square leg and it was called a no-ball after deliberation by on-field umpires.

Nawaz, the hero of Pakistan’s Super 4 victory in the Asia Cup, by then had lost his nerves.

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After Karthik was stumped by an alert Mohammed Rizwan, Nawaz bowled a wide and Ravichandran Ashwin scored the most important boundary of his career.

‘Chak De India’ reverberating around the MCG never sounded sweeter and Kohli seemed numb. He punched ground, took a long walk back, showed thumbs up to the crowd having restored India’s supremacy at a global event.

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