Team India have registered a convincing win over Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on Sunday, October 24. While Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh claimed three wickets each, it was Virat Kohli whose unbeaten 82 sealed the deal as well.
However, after the win, Virat Kohli, who won the Player of the Match award has shared that the atmosphere was great and he also revealed his strategies as well.
He said: “It’s a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened. I am really lost for words. Hardik believed we can do it, if we stayed till the end. When Shaheen bowled from the pavilion end, that’s when we decided to take him down. Haris is their prime bowler, and I hit those two sixes. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic.”
He continued: “From 28 in 8, it came down to 16 to 6. I tried to stick to my instincts. The first one was back of a hand slower ball (the one over long-on). Standing here I just feel like it was meant to be. Till today Mohali was my best innings against Australia. Today I will count this one higher.”
How good was Virat Kohli? Too good. It even made Rahul Dravid almost say bhencho.. pic.twitter.com/LAa3CcP8NM
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 24, 2022
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has also shared how Hardik Pandya pushed him throughout the run-chase. He also thanked everyone for backing him as well.
He again shared, “Hardik kept pushing me. The crowd has been phenomenal. You guys (fans) kept backing me and I am grateful for your support.”
“Hardik was very fearless in his approach” – Virat Kohli praises Indian all-rounder
Notably, both Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya added 113 runs for the fifth wicket and guided India to win as well. While recalling that Pandya played a key role in calming him down during the run chase, Kohli said in a video released by the BCCI:
“Hardik was very fearless in that partnership, when he came onto bat, he immediately told me, ”Let’s talk, let’s communicate and we will bat deep by building a partnership, anything can happen’. He really kept me focused at that point, because I was looking to hit a few big shots, which could have been risky because we had already lost four wickets by that time,” Virat Kohli expressed.
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