MELBOURNE: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram suggested Virat Kohli might be from another planet after the Indian batter’s superb half-century guided them to a four-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan at the Twenty20 World Cup.
Man of the Match Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls as India chased down 160 at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. He hit four sixes, including back-to-back shots over the ropes in the penultimate over to bring India back into the game.
“Aliens do walk among us, he’s one of the best I’ve seen among the modern greats,” Wasim said on Pakistani television channel A Sports.
“Not just now, he has been scoring for the last 15 years and he has the best average while chasing.”
Kohli’s sublime knock comes amid a return to form after he ended a three-year drought for an international hundred at the Asia Cup last month, smashing an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the game’s shortest format.
India great Sachin Tendulkar said it must have been the best innings of Kohli’s career.
“It was a treat to watch you play, the six off the back foot in the 19th over against [Haris] Rauf over long on was spectacular. Keep it going,” he tweeted.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those praising Kohli on social media, while former Pakistan players also joined in.
“What a game of cricket we’ve just witnessed and this guy Virat Kohli is absolutely a beast,” Pakistan batter Shoaib Malik tweeted.
“You cannot compare his class to any other player in the world in white-ball cricket.
“He can anchor, he rotates the strike, he can hit sixes and he knows how to finish the game.”
With India celebrating the festival of Diwali, The Times of India newspaper said Kohli was “back as king” to light up the World Cup with a “cracker of an innings”.
‘INDIA’S BEST KNOCK’
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma ranked Kohli’s match-winning exploits against Pakistan as not just his best-ever innings but one of the greatest in Indian cricket history, with the superstar batsman admitting he had never experienced such emotion.
Kohli was in tears at the end of the match, overcome by the occasion, with Sharma hailing his cool head.
“Definitely his best for sure, but I think from the situation we were in, and to come out with a victory, I think it has to be one of India’s best knocks,” said Sharma of Kohli’s effort.
“Because until the 13th over we were so behind the game, and the required rate was just climbing up and up.
“But to come out and chase that score was an extremely brilliant effort from Virat, and then obviously Hardik (Pandya) played a role there as well.”
Kohli last year relinquished the T20 captaincy after a disastrous World Cup which included a thrashing by Pakistan.
He was then sacked as ODI skipper and in January also gave up the Test captaincy.
The 33-year-old had also endured a prolonged lean patch with the bat, admitting in August his mental health had suffered during his slump in form.
“It is one of the most memorable nights for sure. I have played for 15 years, but never experienced emotions like this,” Kohli said of his innings on the BCCI website.
“The last time I experienced something like this was against Australia in Mohali (at the 2016 T20 World Cup).
“I was a bit emotional then but now I am numb, maybe because that was the quarter-final for us, this is the first game.”
India now face the Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday, before meeting Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe to complete their Super 12 campaign.
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2022