- VIRAT KOHLI (2014)
A batsman of an exalted rank in whose game mingles aggression and watchfulness in equal proportions. That’s Virat Kohli in one line for you. By the beginning of 2014, Kohli had already broken several records in international cricket (including feats such as becoming the second fastest batsman to reach 6,000 ODI runs, fastest Indian to score an ODI century and the fastest Indian to reach 15 ODI centuries). Hence, the responsibility of steering India to victories in the 2014 ICC Cricket World T20 lay on his shoulders. He did not dishearten a billion supporters of India either. Since the fifth edition of the World T20 was being played on Bangladeshi soil, the expectations of Kohli grew manifold owing to his spectacular track record in Bangladesh. No wonder why they call the grounds in Bangladesh his favourite combat zone. India was placed in Group 2 along with the likes of Pakistan, West Indies, Australia and Bangladesh (who had qualified into the Super Ten after having topped their group in the qualifiers). Kohli began to exhibit dazzling form from the outset of the tournament as he top scored with 36* to ensure a seven wicket victory over arch rivals Pakistan in the tournament opener at Mirpur. He bettered it with an elegant 54 (off 41 balls) in the next game against West Indies and remained unbeaten on 57 (from 50 balls) against hosts Bangladesh in the third game. Both his knocks came in winning causes as they helped India complete two consecutive successful run chases. Although, his willow didn’t yield any substantial score against Australia, he returned to his usual best in a crunch semi-final when he made an unbeaten 72 (off 44 balls) to help India attain the target of 173 set by South Africa.
Speaking to Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation, Kohli himself declared the innings as his ‘’best T20 innings ever’’.
To the dismay of the Indian supporters, the Indian juggernaut was blocked by Sri Lanka in the final who clinched their maiden World T20 trophy (it was their third shot at the trophy) as they completed an easy five wicket victory after having restricted the Indians to a below par score of 130/4 in the first innings. Kohli was the top scorer in the final too with 77 runs (from 58 balls) which went in vain for a lethargic batting display from Yuvraj Singh (11 off 21 balls) and lack of support from the other end.
Overall, Kohli had amassed 319 runs from 6 matches in that tournament at an average of 106.33 which is a record for most runs by an individual batsman in a single World T20 edition. Hence palpably, there was no alternative candidate for the Man of the Tournament award.
Four out of the five aforementioned players are participating in the grand event this year. Are we going to see a new champion on the podium this time around or will the award return to one of its former holders? You will have to wait till April 3 to decipher that..
