In the end, did a tear slip out of Virat Kohli’s eyes after his most wondrous chase under pressure, on and off the field?
He was down on his knee, punching the ground twice, as all the bottled-up emotions poured out of him. In an already astonishing career, this chase against Pakistan in World T20 might just take the cake. It’s a format that doesn’t come naturally to him, he had taken a break as he struggled to come to terms with what he perceived as unjust treatment after his captaincy was taken away – “Only MS Dhoni called me,” he would say – and he needed that break to rediscover his love for the game.
“I think it was meant to be. I would rate this higher (than Mohali chase against Australia),” he would say at the end. “You guys supported me all this while when things weren’t going well for me, thank you,” he would thank the crowd.
It was a textbook chase. Hardik Pandya wasn’t allowed to flow by the Pakistan pacers and at one stage in the chase, with run-rate over 10, Kohli had to do it all on his own. The gladiator who loves his audience showing the world who is the boss.
Here are some of the stuff that was stacked against him. In four overs after power play, India had eked out just 14 runs. Worse, at the timeout after the 10th over, the physio was out, massaging behind the knee area of Pandya. The all-rounder felt a niggle even at the nets on match eve. Pressing question right now was: Where were the runs going to come? Who are they going to target?
There was another question hovering in the air: Who will go for it? A younger Pandya would have gone with the senior Kohli hanging around. But now the matured IPL captain Pandya likes to stay till the end, drag the game, see the younger players throw the bat around, while he deals with the finish.
The Report Chronicle 