When it comes to chasing massive totals, that too under pressure, not mentioning the name of Virat Kohli would be an injustice to his greatness.
Kohli, 34, proved once again why he is called “The Chase Master” as he not only played a significant 85-run innings, but he did it when everyone thought that the mighty Aussies would defend the easy 200-run target.
The 34-year-old came to bat when India had lost three batters — Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer — for just two runs in the first two overs.
Even though the Aussies had the upper hand, but it’s not over as long as Kohli is still on the pitch, something which he has proven a number of times in the past.
The 34-year-old built a match-winning 165-run partnership with KL Rahul, who finished the game with a maximum, taking his run tally to 97.
The cricket fraternity is in awe of Kohli’s astounding knock and here is how fans and ex-cricketers reacted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It must be noted that India beat Australia by six wickets in Chennai and started their World Cup 2023 campaign with a blast.
An all-round performance by the Indian bowlers, spinners especially, helped the Blues restrict the visitors to just 199 runs.
After winning the recent Asia Cup 2023 and beating the Aussies in a three-match ODI series, the Blues continued their great form.
On the other hand, things have started to get difficult for Pat Cummins as his side have one win in the last six ODIs and not having more than one natural spinner (Adam Zampa) may cause more trouble for the Aussie in spinning Indian conditions.
India will play Afghanistan next on October 11 in Delhi while Australia will take on the in-form South African side on October 12 in Lucknow.
- Virat Kohli