If there is one opponent Virat Kohli undoubtedly loves to face, it has always been Pakistan. Few have dominated against Pakistan the way Kohli has. In fact, right ahead of the Champions Trophy earlier this year, while most experts were worried about Kohli's form, the legendary Shoaib Akhtar reckoned it would be against Pakistan where he would bounce back. And so did he, with a ravishing unbeaten century that set up a six-wicket victory in Dubai.
But Kohli's love affair with Pakistan did not start on a good note. In the 2009 Champions Trophy, he first went up against Pakistan. He was dismissed for just 16 runs in India's 54-run defeat in Centurion. India later went on to incur a group-stage exit.
Speaking to Mayanti Langer on the RCB podcast, Kohli recalled that he was never part of the original India squad for that ICC tournament. Named in the standby list, Kohli only made it through after Yuvraj Singh incurred a finger injury. In a space of just four days, he was informed about the decision, made to fly from Bengaluru and handed his first appearance in the game against Pakistan, where he was dismissed while trying to git Shahid Afridi for a six.
"I played my first series in Sri Lanka, and then I was left out of the team for a while because I had come into the team in place of Sachin paji, who had a niggle. And then when he came back, there was no space left for me. So I had to wait for my chance again. Then came the Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa. Yuvi pa got a finger injury, I think he got a fracture or something, and then they called me. They used to tell me, keep your suitcase with you, keep your clothes packed and keep your passport on you at all times. I was always a standby, so they called me over. I was in Bangalore, actually. They asked me to fly over immediately. So when I went over, the very next game I played was Pakistan in three days. That was my first India-Pakistan game. I think about scored about 16 or something. I tried to hit Shahid Afridi for a six straight down the ground in Centurion, and I got caught. We lost that game. It was an important moment in the game, and my heart was beating so fast throughout that whole innings," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"I played my first series in Sri Lanka, and then I was left out of the team for a while because I had come into the team in place of Sachin paji, who had a niggle. And then when he came back, there was no space left for me. So I had to wait for my chance again. Then came the Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa. Yuvi pa got a finger injury, I think he got a fracture or something, and then they called me. They used to tell me, keep your suitcase with you, keep your clothes packed and keep your passport on you at all times. I was always a standby, so they called me over. I was in Bangalore, actually. They asked me to fly over immediately. So when I went over, the very next game I played was Pakistan in three days. That was my first India-Pakistan game. I think about scored about 16 or something. I tried to hit Shahid Afridi for a six straight down the ground in Centurion, and I got caught. We lost that game. It was an important moment in the game, and my heart was beating so fast throughout that whole innings," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Dravid stood as India's only hope in the chase of 303 in Centurion. He forged a 90-run stand with opener Gautam Gambhir, before rebuilding after a collapse with Suresh Raina by his side. But on the latter's dismissal, Dravid lacked support as the rest of the line-up crumbled in quick time. India were folded for 248 runs in 44.5 overs.
'I just messed it up...'
The defeat in the crucial game and inability to perform in the match left Kohli fearing for his career. He recalled staying awake all that night, thinking his journey was over.
"I just could not process everything that happened within a span of four days. And I remember us losing that game because it was a big loss. I just could not sleep. I stayed awake until five in the morning, staring at the ceiling. I was like, "This is it." I've been called after a year, and I've just messed it up. I don't know how this is going to shape up. I had a lot of moments like that where I really, really doubted myself and had to again kind of recalibrate and find a way to slowly build up again and just try to focus on what is in front of me and what might go wrong in whatever amount of time," he added.
Kohli now has 778 runs against Pakistan in 17 ODI innings, including four centuries. He has also scored 492 runs in 11 T20I matches against them, laced with five fifties.