What Was Kohli Thinking During Those Monumental Sixes Against Haris Rauf?

(Virat Kohli smashed two consecutive sixes against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup game)

India vs Pakistan game in front of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and with 28 needed off just 8 balls to win for the Indian team, things would end 9 out of 10 times in Pakistan’s favour. But the one time when things went in India’s favour was when Virat Kohli was up against the Pakistan bowlers in the 2022 T20 World Cup and ended up finishing the game on the last ball of the match. With a jam-packed crowd and being against one of the arch-rivals, it wasn't easy for Virat Kohli to smash Pakistan’s best bowler, Haris Rauf for two consecutive sixes. But being the best batter of this generation, he made sure that India celebrates Diwali peacefully on the next day of the game.

Summary of the Match

In the 2022 T20 World Cup, India was scheduled to play against Pakistan on 23rd October 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Being one of the most intense rivalries of all time, India-Pakistan has always given some of the best moments to the fans which has made the game even more beautiful to watch. After winning the toss, India decided to bowl first because of the ground having a better chase record and hence the fans were looking forward to seeing another classic battle between both the teams in the ground of Australia.

While batting first, Pakistan were off to a bad start as in just the first 4 overs, both the openers, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were dismissed leaving the team at 2-15 and hence it looked like the Indian team was at the top now. However, a partnership between Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood ensured that the team was back in the game. Both the players posted a fifty-plus score and gave a boost to that batting lineup.

(Indian team celebrates after picking the wicket of Babar Azam)

Besides them, no other batter was able to do well in the middle order and hence the result was that the Pakistan team got only 159 runs with the loss of 8 wickets from their 20 overs. Among the Indian bowlers, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya were the bowling stars as they picked up 3 wickets each from their 4 overs and gave away just 30 runs in the innings.

Coming to the Indian batters, they started just like the Pakistan team as in just 4 overs, both the openers, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were back in the hut and the scoreline was just 10-2 which was a massive setback for the Indian team out there. By the end of the 6th over, India lost two more wickets of Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav with the runs being only 31 on the board and hence it was a proper collapse of the top order of the Indian team.

(KL Rahul disappointed after getting dismissed early in the game against Pakistan)

Now in the middle, Virat Kohli was joined by Hardik Pandya to take the Indian team home and hence both the players started off slowly to reach the target. By the end of the 11th over, India completed 50 runs and still needed 110 runs from the last 9 overs which looked an impossible target for the players out there. In the 12th over, Hardik Pandya finally changed his gears and smashed Mohammad Nawaz for two sixes while Kohli managed to get a six also.

In the 15th over, India finally reached the 100 runs mark and still needed 60 runs from the 30 balls to take the points in this crucial encounter. Now, the big deal came up for the Indian team when from the last 3 overs, the team was in a position to get 48 runs and everyone was waiting to see how the team takes up the challenge of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi at the end. Kohl smashed 3 boundaries from the over of Shaheen Afridi to pick up 17 runs while also completing his fifty in 43 balls.

(Virat Kohli against Haris Rauf in the 2022 T20 World Cup)

From the last 2 overs, the situation was 31 runs required from the 12 balls and Haris Rauf came out to bowl this crucial over for the Pakistan team. The first four balls of the over saw 3 runs and it was now 28 runs required from the last 8 balls which was a massive task because of the long boundaries and with the pace of Rauf, it wasn't going to be easy. But on the 18.5, Virat Kohli played an amazing shot which was a length ball from Rauf and Kohli played it with a straight bat just over the bowler’s head.

After this, another ball that Haris Rauf bowled at the leg stump, Kohli just flicked it over the boundary of the fine leg and hence India got 15 runs from the 19th over and for the last 6 balls, they needed 16 runs to clinch the game now. On the first ball, Hardik Pandya was caught out while slogging and then the next 2 balls went for 3 runs and the Indian team required 13 runs from the last 3 balls when Mohammad Nawaz bowled a no-ball and Kohli smashed it for six runs.

(Rohit Sharma carried Virat Kohli on his shoulders after winning the match against Pakistan)

On the free hit, Virat Kohli was able to run three runs as the ball crashed onto the stumps and ran away to the third man region which allowed both the batters to get those runs. With two runs needed on the two balls, Dinesh Karthik was stumped out and hence R Ashwin came to the crease and got the run from wide by just shifting towards the off side and hence it made the team had just 1 run required from the last ball.

On the last ball of the innings, R Ashwin scooped the ball over the mid-off to get the one run and allowed the Indian team to take the win here. The whole MCG crowd erupted and hence it was a moment that caught the attention of every cricket fan who saluted Virat Kohli for his innings that gave the Indian team a win in such a tough situation.

How Did Virat and Hardik manage the Spectacular Run Chase?

After the match, it was an amazing moment for both the batters who stood tall during the run chase as Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli allowed the Indian team to stay till the end and give the team a chance to chase this target. In the post-match presentation, Hardik Pandya said that it was amazing to be in the middle with Virat Kohli who has the experience of taking the team to such a position where the bowlers got terrified.

“I would have taken a bullet for you at that point of time, but I would not have let you get out. My goal was simple, whatever I can do to make your life easier, I'll do it. You have done it so many times and no one is better at handling pressure than you. Those two shots played by Virat Kohli, just because I know how important those two shots were, if you had missed even shot, still they were running ahead with the game. I have hit a lot of sixes, but those two sixes were really really special. What it meant for both of us, we actually were so pumped. Those two shots, I told him that I have played so much cricket but I do not think anyone could have played those two shots except Mr. Kohli.”

Even coming to Virat Kohli, said that it was tough in the middle when India was 31-4, and hence the credit goes to Hardik Pandya who kept telling him to just bat till the end. Furthermore, the plan to attack Harsi Rauf helped the Indian team and hence both the batters made it clear to get those shots played against him and hence get the Pakistan team to panic.

“I think a lot of credit has to go to Hardik. Because he came in and he was very, very positive. He kept telling me, you know, just keep striking the ball, just keep pushing in the gaps. Let's take the game deep, it can happen, we can do it. But then when he (Hardik) came in and he had a few boundaries, I kind of opened up. It's T20 cricket at the end of the day, we have to hit boundaries, you have to go up to the bowlers. But that partnership - when it got to 100, we didn't even realise because we were just enjoying soaking that pressure together and kept talking, running hard. I think when Shaheen [Shah Afridi] bowled from the pavillion end (18th over), that's when I spoke to Hardik that we need to take him down. And then the conversation was simple. So I told him if I can take Harris down then they will panic because he was their prime bowler. So I was kind of pumping myself up to hit two sixes when we needed 28 off eight and that became 16 off six.”