India captain Rohit Sharma hailed the individual brilliance of run machine Virat Kohli after the batting icon led Team India to a famous win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday. Rohit-led Team India renewed their epic rivalry on the grandest stages of of all and took on Babar Azam-led Pakistan to open the tournament at the famous Melbourne Cricket Stadium (MCG).
Kohli showcased India’s incredible fightback against Babar-led Pakistan on Sunday, playing a majestic knock to help Rohit and co. field the Green Army in a final thriller at the MCG. Kohli continued his impressive run in the limited overs format and hit his 34th T20I half-century as the batting icon lived up to his ‘Chasemaster’ moniker. When asked about Kohli’s magical knock in the post-match press conference, Indian captain Rohit said the match-winning innings was the best ever knock played by the former Indian captain in his iconic career.
Speaking to reporters after India’s four-wicket win over Pakistan, Rohit claimed that Kohli had produced India’s best knock in T20I cricket. “Yeah, I think it has to go – it’s certainly his best, but I think from the situation we were in and to come out with a win, I think it has to be India’s best knock, not just his best .” ” said Rohit. “Because till the 13th over (needing almost 100 runs) we were so far behind in the game and the required rate just kept going up and up. But to come out and chase that score was extremely brilliant from Virat and then obviously Hardik played a part as well ( Pandya),” added Rohit, who became India’s most capped player in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Rohit also claimed that Kohli did not adopt a lean patch in the build-up to the T20 World Cup. “Talking about Virat, I honestly don’t think he’s struggling with form or anything. He’s batted as well as he has, but the expectations are always so high with him that even if he gets a good 30 or 40, people tend to talk about it, ” said Rohit. Kohli smashed 82 off 53 balls as India chased down a challenging total of 160 on the last ball of the innings. The 33-year-old was adjudged Man of the Match for his aggressive knock against the 2009 World Champions. The batting icon also broke a number of records with his batting master class at the MCG.
“From a team management perspective, I thought he was in a good space right from the Asia Cup where he got a month off and then came back for the Asia Cup. He was fresh, got a great hundred there, got a couple of fifties. If I’m not mistaken. And then before the World Cup we know what quality he has and he has done so well in all three formats in these conditions,” concluded Rohit.
