sports deskOne hour ago
Pressure situation, top order flop and Virat Kohli standing at one end winning the match. Indian fans have now become used to seeing this sight. On Sunday, Kohli once again led India out of difficult conditions and the team won by 6 wickets.
Kohli also got good support from wicketkeeper KL Rahul against Australia in Chennai. But many times in his career, Virat has single-handedly won matches for India in pressure situations, especially against teams like Australia and Pakistan. Be it 82 runs against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup or 183 runs in the 2012 Asia Cup, Kohli leaves Indian fans disappointed on very few occasions.
In this story, we will know about such top-10 match-winning innings of Kohli in big tournaments and against big teams. Let’s start with a century against Sri Lanka in the 2012 Tri Series…
1. 321 runs were to be scored in 40 overs, India lost 2 wickets in 10 overs.
On 28 February 2012, a tri-series match was played between India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka scored 320 runs in 50 overs in Hobart. To reach the final, India had to chase the target in 40 overs. Here, India lost the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the 10th over. The team still needed 235 runs in 30 overs, 23 year old Kohli came to the crease.
Kohli made a century partnership with Gautam Gambhir in front of top class bowlers like Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath. Gambhir was out in the 28th over, but Kohli held on. He played a not out inning of 133 runs in just 86 balls and led India to victory in just 36.4 overs. This was Kohli’s first memorable innings under the pressure of the international stage.
2. Pakistan gave a target of 331, India lost the wicket at zero.
On 18 March 2012, the Asia Cup group stage match was played between India and Pakistan. Pakistan scored 329 runs in 50 overs in Mirpur. India needed a win to reach the final. The team lost the wicket of Gautam Gambhir in the very first over. Virat Kohli came to bat on the team score of 0 runs. He took charge of the situation and made a partnership of 133 runs with Sachin.
Sachin was out after scoring 52 runs, Kohli was still holding on. He made a partnership of 172 runs with Rohit Sharma, of which 103 runs were from Kohli. In front of bowlers like Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal, Kohli played an inning of 183 runs and brought the team to the threshold of victory. Kohli was out on the first ball of the 48th over and India won the match on the fifth ball.
In this Asia Cup, Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka in the last match and made it to the finals. Due to which the match against Pakistan proved to be the last match of Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI career, which Virat made memorable with his innings.
3. Virat shines in ICC final against host England
The ICC Champions Trophy final was played between India and England on 23 June 2013. Due to rain, the 50-50 over match was reduced to 20-20 overs. India came to bat first in Birmingham and opener Rohit Sharma was out in the fourth over. The score was just 19 runs, Virat Kohli, at number 3, took over the innings with Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan was out after scoring 31 runs, after that wickets kept falling continuously at one end. Dinesh Karthik could score only 6, Suresh Raina 1 and captain MS Dhoni could score only 0 runs.
Kohli remained at one end and made an important partnership of 47 runs with Ravindra Jadeja, taking the score beyond 100 runs. Kohli was out in the 19th over after scoring 43 runs, but took the team to a respectable score. India scored 129 runs for 7 wickets and restricted England to 124 runs. Team India won the Champions Trophy title by winning the match by 5 runs.
4. Won ICC semi-final against Stan-Tahir
Along with ODI, Kohli has also rescued India in pressure situations in T-20 format. On 4 April 2014, the semi-final of the T-20 World Cup was played between India and South Africa. South Africa scored 172 runs for 4 wickets in Mirpur. India’s first wicket fell in the fourth over itself. Rohit Sharma was out and Kohli landed at number-3. Overs left for bowlers like Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir.
Kohli made a partnership of 38 runs with Ajinkya Rahane and then 56 runs with Yuvraj Singh. Yuvi out and team needs 40 runs in 4 overs. Then Dale Steyn, who was in peak form, had 2 overs left. Kohli changed gears from here, scoring 17 runs in the 17th over, 13 runs in the 18th over and 9 runs in the 19th over, bringing India to the brink of victory. One run needed in the last over and Kohli took India to the final by hitting a four off Steyn’s ball.
5. India’s score against Pakistan is 8/3, Kohli single-handedly won the match
On 27 February 2016, India and Pakistan faced each other in the Asia Cup group stage. Batting first in Mirpur, Pakistan could score only 83 runs. It seemed as if Team India would easily achieve the target, but in front of Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Sami, India lost 3 wickets for 8 runs. Openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane could not even open the account. Kohli, who landed at number-3, had to come to the crease in the very first over.
Kohli understood the pitch and the Pakistan bowlers and slowly progressed the innings. Along with Aamir and Sami, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz were also bowling well. But after getting set, Kohli started hitting boundaries, he hit 7 fours and took the team’s score to 76 runs. He was out in the 15th over after scoring 49 runs and the team won the match by 5 wickets in the 16th over.
6. Saved from getting hurt in front of Pakistan on home ground
After the Asia Cup, India and Pakistan faced each other in the T-20 World Cup. Due to rain in Kolkata on 19 March 2016, the match was played in 18 overs format. Pakistan could score only 118 runs for 5 wickets. But India had a bad start this time too. Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina returned to the pavilion within 23 runs. This time Shahid Afridi was also there along with Aamir, Sami, Irfan and Wahab.
Kohli had to come to bat in the third over itself. He continued the innings with Yuvraj Singh in front of the home crowd and made a partnership of 61 runs. Yuvi was out in the 12th over, but Kohli held on. Kohli played an unbeaten inning of 55 runs in 37 balls and helped the team win by 6 wickets in the 16th over itself.
7. Gave a seemingly impossible victory to Australia
The year 2016 was very special for Kohli. Along with 4 centuries in IPL, he also played many memorable innings at the international level. India and Australia faced each other in the T20 World Cup on 27 March. Australia scored 160 runs for 6 wickets in Mohali. India needed to win to reach the semi-finals. But the top order again flopped, Rohit was out after scoring 12 runs, Dhawan 13 and Raina 10 runs. The score became 3 wickets for 49 runs in front of Kohli who came to bat in the fourth over.
In front of bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Shane Watson, Adam Zampa and James Faulkner, Kohli led the innings of Yuvraj Singh. Both had built a partnership when Yuvi was out after scoring 21 runs. He was out in the 14th over and the team needed 67 runs in 36 balls. Dhoni took time to settle in front of Kohli and the team needed 39 runs on 18 balls. Kohli scored 19 runs in the 18th over and 16 runs in the 19th over.
4 runs needed on the last 6 balls and Dhoni hit a four to take India to the semi-finals. Kohli remained not out after scoring 82 runs on 51 balls. He considers this innings as one of the best innings of his life.
8. First ODI under captaincy, target of 351 and India 63/4
On 15 January 2017, the first match of the ODI series was played between India and England. This was Virat’s first match after getting full time captaincy. In Pune, England batted first and scored 350 runs for 7 wickets. Team India lost the wicket of Dhawan in the fourth over itself. In front of Virat, who came at number-3, KL Rahul was out after scoring 8 runs, Yuvraj Singh 15 and MS Dhoni after scoring 6 runs.
India’s score became 63 runs for 4 wickets, here Kohli took the innings forward with Kedar Jadhav. After getting set, both of them started hitting big shots. Kohli scored a century and India’s score crossed 260 in 36 overs. Kohli was out after scoring 122 runs, but took the team out of pressure situations and came closer to victory. Jadhav was out after scoring 120 runs, but Team India won the thrilling match by 3 wickets in the 49th over.
9. Pakistan is in danger of second consecutive defeat in the World Cup, Kohli saved the entire nation from heartbreak.
The T20 World Cup group stage match was played between India and Pakistan on 23 October 2022. Just a year ago, Pakistan had defeated India in the T-20 World Cup. There was pressure on Team India, Pakistan batted first in Melbourne and scored 159 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. India’s top order disintegrated in front of bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. Rohit 4, Rahul 4, Suryakumar 15 and Akshar Patel were out after scoring 2 runs.
When Kohli came to bat in the second over, the score became 31 runs for 4 wickets. Team India started lagging far behind in the match but as long as Kohli was there, the team had hopes. Virat along with Hardik Pandya took the innings forward and saved the wickets from falling. India needed 48 runs in just 18 balls, Kohli scored 17 runs in Shaheen’s over.
Rauf gave only 3 runs on the next 4 balls, 28 runs needed on 8 balls. Haris bowled a bouncer at a speed of 143 km, Kohli, standing on the front foot, rotated the bat with the help of his wrists and the ball crossed the boundary of 85 meters in the front direction and went for a six. On the next ball, Kohli hit a six over fine leg. 15 runs needed in the last over and Pandya was out after scoring 40 runs. Kohli persisted and scored 13 runs in 3 balls.
2 runs needed on the last 2 balls and Dinesh Karthik is out. But Ravi Ashwin took a single on the last ball after a wide and Team India won the match by 4 wickets. Kohli said after the match that he ranks this innings even higher than the 82-run inning he played against Australia in Mohali. Kohli also scored only 82 runs in the match against Pakistan.
10. First match of the World Cup, 2 runs and 3 batsmen out against Australia.
His innings played in Chennai is the latest entry in Kohli’s top-10 innings in pressure situations. India faced Australia in the first match of the home ODI World Cup on Sunday. Despite the strong performance of the spinners, the Kangaroo team was all out after scoring 199 runs. It seemed that Team India would easily achieve the target, but the team lost 3 wickets for just 2 runs. Rohit, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer could not even open the account.
Even Virat, who came to bat at number 3 in the very first over, could not bear the pressure; he hit Josh Hazlewood’s ball in the air in the 8th over. But Mitchell Marsh dropped his catch. Kohli took advantage of this opportunity and made a partnership of 165 runs with KL Rahul. Kohli was out after scoring 85 runs, he could not complete the century but brought the team closer to victory. Rahul remained not out after scoring 97 runs and helped the team win by 6 wickets in the 42nd over.
That’s all for Kohli’s memorable innings today, but after the Chennai innings, crores of Indian fans are now hoping that Virat can make this World Cup special for the country.
Also read other sports news.
5 factors of India’s victory: Kangaroo lost due to difficult pitch of Chepauk, Indian spinners and Kohli-Rahul partnership.
India has started the World Cup 2023 with a win. Team India defeated Australia by 6 wickets in its first league match. Click here to read the complete news.
Rahul was disappointed even after hitting a six: Kohli’s dropping the catch cost the Kangaroos dearly, Australian batsmen were troubled by the heat; top moments
In the ODI World Cup 2023, India started with a win by defeating Australia by 6 wickets. Batting first, the Australian team was all out after scoring 199 runs. India also had a poor start in reply. Our team also lost 3 wickets for 2 runs. After this, the hard-working innings of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli led the team to victory. Click here to read the complete news.