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It was March 27 in Mohali, and India were on track to reach the semifinals of the 2016 T20 World Cup but faced the mighty Australians with only a win taking them to the next stage of the competition. Chasing 160 on the Mohali pitch might seem like an easy task but facing the might of the Aussie pacers, India saw their required run-rate balloon past 10 an over, inching towards 12, when Virat Kohli hit the acceleration pedal.
Kohli scored a brilliant unbeaten 82 off 51 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, as the Men in Blue won the pseudo-quarter-final to move onto the semifinal against eventual champions West Indies.
The descent into dwindling form
This is just one example of why Virat Kohli is the undisputed batting king of Team India — a fact that has been drowned by the critics of the batter because of his dwindling form coupled with India's subpar performances in crunch ties of major ICC tournaments. Starting with the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, the 2019 semifinal vs New Zealand, or the disastrous 2021 T20 World Cup campaign, which, by the way, was hosted by India in the UAE.
Coming into the 2022 Asia Cup, a lot was made of Virat Kohli's inability to score runs. His Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was a disaster, he was not scoring runs regularly for the country, and many of his former colleagues and legends of the game called for him to be axed.
Back to flying with the greats
So much so that even when he scored his maiden T20I century against Afghanistan, many chalked it down to being scored against a 'small team'. But Kohli lives to smash his critics out of the park, and he did just that when India secured a massive, albeit hard-fought victory over Pakistan in their opening match of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
India were in a position not dissimilar to the one they were in back in 2016 against Australia. Chasing 159 for the win, the India openers were dismissed for just eight runs and the run rate soon passed the 10 runs threshold. Kohli was in the middle with Hardik Pandya, another hard-hitter, but with the required rate steadily rising, many thought that the game was out of India's hands, forgetting who was the Chase Master that World Cricket dreaded. He led them to victory, this time with an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls.
Kohli turned back the clock — And how. Everyone has been in awe with Suryakumar Yadav's recent 360 degrees batting, but some of the shots that he played left everyone dumbstruck and cursing themselves for ever doubting the king. One particular shot, a straight shot down the ground off Haris Rauf's ball that went for a six, was reminiscent of the Virat Kohli the world knew and grew to love.
ODI World Cup — Check, Champions Trophy — Check, T20 World Cup... Incoming?
This might be Virat Kohli's last T20 World Cup, or it might not be as well, but one thing is for sure — His trophy cabinet does not reflect the kind of talent that he possesses. Counting aside the Asia Cup, Kohli won the ODI World Cup in 2011, and the 2013 Champions Trophy. But he has also lost two major finals, the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2014 T20 World Cup.
This might prove to be the best possible chance for Kohli to not only win the elusive trophy from the shortest format of the international game but also etch his name in history books as one of the most decorated white ball cricketers, to make sure his critics don't doubt him anymore.
But all said and done, Kohli was and will always be, the King of cricket in India and the world.
