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Virat Kohli picks his two favourite international matches
Virat Kohli has picked two of his most favourite cricket matches. He picked the World Cup 2011 final and the quarter-final against Australia in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
India captain Virat Kohli has been a part of many memorable matches and in a lot of those matches, he was at the forefront of India’s victories. But like majority of India’s 15-member World Cup squad in 2011, the final against Sri Lanka, which ended India’s 28-year wait for the ODI World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, is also Virat Kohli’s favourite match.
Kohli had scored a crucial 35 coming in to bat at No. 4 after the fall of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket and forged an 83-run stand for the thrid wicket with Gautam Gambhir to stabilise India’s chase.
In addition to that glorious moment at the Wankhede, Kohli also has another match that he will always remember -- the 2016 World T20 quarter-final game against Australia in Mohali played on March 27 -- where his unbeaten 82 helped the Men in Blue snatch a thrilling six-wicket win with five balls to spare and enter the semi-finals of the tournament.
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“Apart from the 2011 finals, my other favourite match from the atmosphere and importance of the game point of view, would be the 2016 T20 quarter-finals against Australia in Mohali,” Kohli said while speaking on Star Sports ‘Cricket Connected’ show.
However, India had to face a crushing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies in the semi-final.
The cricketing activities at the moment remain suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has wreaked havoc across the world.
Kohli, the current India skipper, has admitted the “magical” atmosphere will be missing if the cricket season currently stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic resumes in empty stadiums.
“It’s quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don’t know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans,” Kohli said.
“Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.
“We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by,” he added.
He, however, believes playing without fans in attendance would not dampen the competitive side of matches.
“I know matches will be played at a very good intensity,” he said.
“But that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are difficult to recreate,” he added.
(With IANS inputs)
