In a 2022 T20 World Cup Super 12 match Bangladesh gave India a tough fight and ultimately went down by five runs (DLS method). After Virat Kohli (64*, 44b) scored his third half-century and KL Rahul (50, 32b) roared back to form, India gave bangladesh a 185-run target. Bangladesh got a good start in the chase with Litton Das scoring a 21-ball half-century. Then, rain stopped play and Bangladesh’s revised target was 151 run in 16 overs. However, the Shakib Al Hasan-led side fell short by five runs.
There was one incident where things could have gone out of hand. On the last ball of the 16th over, bowled by Hasan Mahmud, Kohli faced a short ball that he pulled. Almost immediately, he indicated towards the square-leg umpire about the height of the delivery.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan came running and talked to Kohli about the latter’s gesture towards the umpire. The two smiled and went back to their respective position.
Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said Kohli should not have indicated anything to the umpires. “Shakib is telling him that ‘you bat, and let umpires do their job’. I think they are discussing, what we were talking about. If you are going to call something and are going to put pressure on the umpire…then of course, he is a big name. Virat Kohli is a big name. He is a massive name in cricket so umpire sometimes come under pressure,” Waqar Younis said on A Sports.
Talking about Kohli’s innings, he overtook former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene’s total of 1,016 runs to become the highest scorer in T20 World Cup history. Jayawardene set his mark from 31 innings but Kohli took only 23 to pass him.
“As soon as I knew the World Cup was in Australia, I was grinning from ear to ear,” said Kohli, who clearly loves batting on the faster wickets. “I knew good cricketing shots would be the key. I knew the kind of experience and game awareness of having played in Australia will come in handy for the team.”
Promoted
Kohli, who had already hit two match-winning half-centuries at this World Cup, reached his third fifty in 37 balls to bring alive the Indian-dominated crowd at the Adelaide Oval.
With AFP inputs
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