Virat Kohli raises his bat after scoring half-century during India vs England, 3rd T20I in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
India found themselves in hot water at the start of the death overs during their 3rd T20I against England, scoring just 87 at the loss of five wickets. But a well-set Virat Kohli changed gears to score 49 off the final 17 deliveries he faced as the hosts finished with 156 on board for the loss of six wickets. Left mighty impressed with his knock, Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik compared Kohli's knock saying "He starts like a Corolla and finishes like a Ferrari!"
Karthik, talking to Sky Cricket after India's innings, further added saying, "My goodness, the last bit was unbelievable! He's the best batsman in the world for a reason. His game awareness, his ability to move around the crease and predict what the bowler is going to do almost before he delivers is one of his greatest strengths."
Skipper Kohli (77 not out, 46 balls) picked opposition's hostile fast bowler Mark Wood (3/31 in 4 overs) for some special treatment in the 18th over with some "gourmet hitting" that changed the course of the innings after England put India under the pump at 86 for 5.
Wood's thunderbolts at 90 plus miles per hour found the younger Indian batsmen in considerable discomfort.
Woods didn't do anything extra but bowled fast and straight, mixing the well-disguised short-pitched stuff to get them into a tangle.
Save Kohli, other Indian youngsters found it difficult to put bat to ball as pace and bounce off the pitch worked wonders for English speed merchants.
The Indian skipper with his near-perfect technique fought fire with fire, playing those pull shots and the lofted hit, shuffling towards leg stump and making room for himself.
He was lucky when his mistimed flick to a short ball fetched him a six but then the second flick was perfectly dispatched to the longest corner for a maximum.
(with PTI inputs)
