‘The calculation was simple,’ Virat Kohli explains how he planned India’s comeback win vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli played the innings of his life in T20 World Cup on Saturday when the star India batter scored a 82 not out to help the Men in Blue chase down 160 in a thriller against Pakistan that went down to the last delivery of the match.

T20 World Cup Home | Schedule | Results | Points Table | T20 World Cup News | Photos

Till today Mohali was my best innings against Australia. Today I will count this one higher. Hardik kept pushing me. The crowd has been phenomenal. You guys (fans) kept backing me and I am grateful for your support.

The innings, laced with six fours and four sixes, came at a time when India were reeling at 31/4 as Kohli stitched a crucial 113 runs for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya, who scored an unfamiliar second fiddle with a 37-ball 40.

Speaking after the match at the presentation ceremony to India’s former coach Ravi Shastri, Kohli didn’t hold back his emotion in saying this was the best innings of his career given the magnitude of the match while comparing it to a similar 82 against Australia during 2016 T20 World Cup Super 10 match in Mohali.

“Till today Mohali was my best innings against Australia. I scored 82 off 52 there and I scored 82 off 53 today so both were similar. But today I will count this one higher because of the magnitude of the game,” he said.

As mentioned, the knock came at a time when India were struggling at 31/4. However with fifty runs needed in the last three overs, Kohli revealed he kept his cool and decided to take on their best bowler Haris Rauf to panic the Pakistanis.

“When Shaheen bowled from the pavilion end, that’s when we decided to take him down. Haris is their prime bowler, and I hit those two sixes. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. From 28 in 8, it came down to 16 to 6. I tried to stick to my instincts. The first one was back of a hand slower ball (the one over long-on). Standing here I just feel like it was meant to be,” he said.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, IPL Live Score, IPL 2022 schedule, IPL 2022 Points table and Entertainment News. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.