Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Virat Kohli wins over Hyderabad with passionate knock
Another day, another masterclass from Virat Kohli as the Indian captain once again proved the world why he is the best batsman in the world. The Indian talisman slammed his highest score in T20I cricket - an unbeaten 94 runs in 50 balls to guide the hosts to a comfortable 6-wicket win in the record chase. Kohli's magnificent innings helped India to chase down the 208-run target with 8 balls to spare in Hyderabad.
Like every Kohli's masterclass, this innings also equalled a world record as he won his 12th Man of the Match record in T20I to emulate Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi's tally.
Kohli, who returned to India's team after a short break from T20I series against Bangladesh, looked uncomfortable in the start of the innings as he was scoring with the strike rate of around 100 and was struggling to hit the ball cleanly. The Indian captain was trying to slog the balls but was not connecting which made him a bit frustrated but the second part of his innings was just a proof of his intelligence.
It was the first ball of 14th over when Kohli launched a powerful six over deep extra cover that set the tempo his innings, which laid the foundation of India's highest ever chase in T20I cricket. The marvellous innings of Kohli is a perfect example for any young players to how to keep calm when the things are not going in your favour. The way Kohli changed his gears after KL Rahul's departure showed, you just can't keep him out of the game.
Despite struggling in the first half of the innings Kohli slammed six fours and six marvellous sixes.
The Hyderabad crowd witnessed a hungry Delhi boy on Friday who was just eager to take his victory line as his passion for the game was seen throughout the match. Kohli was animated, he was angry but he was at the top of his game against every Windies bowler, whether it be Jason Holder or Sheldon Cottrell.
In the 16th over of the game, Kohli avenged Kescrick Williams for his two-year-old theatrics as the Caribbean bowler gave him the typical notebook-send off, but in Hyderabad, the tables turned and the Indian skipper did the same against him after hitting him for a classic boundary in the mid-wicket region.
With this innings, Kohli proved "When you're backed against the wall, break that goddamn thing down."
