Astounding statistics that prove Kohli’s greatness | Catch My Job

To everyone’s surprise, the king returned.

After another last-ditch effort to save his country, Virat Kohli once again cemented his credentials as one of the all-time greats, scoring 82* off 53 in a near-flawless innings against Pakistan on Sunday.

Both off the bat and in the chase, Kohli’s timing has left cricket fans speechless. No superlatives in past innings justify performing in front of 90,000 people at the MCG, and the man himself continues to move into unknown territory, even for himself.

Instead, Kohli’s numbers are shouting from the rooftops.

In the chases across five T20 World Cup campaigns, Kohli has made 541 runs at a strike rate of 135.92. Dropped just twice in his ten overs, Kohli’s last match-winning effort saw his average jump to a whopping 270.50. Apart from a 2* against Scotland at the end of their 2021 victory chase, Kohli’s lowest score is 23 (27) at Nagpur in 2016.

After the MCG miracle, we look back at the master of the chase in previous ICC Men’s T20 World Cups.

78* (61) v Pakistan, Colombo (RPS), 2012

While chasing a target of just 129 men may not scream the word ‘clutch’, Kohli has shown calm in the storm of another India-Pakistan encounter on the slow surface of the R.Premadasa Stadium.

As the batsmen on the other side dragged back trying to pick up the run rate too much, Kohli walked out to see teammate Gautam Gambhir fall to Raza Hasan who was caught to bowl two balls into the innings.

Kohli made just 16 off his first 19 deliveries, before making an effortless statement over Shahid Afridi for a six in the first over off the Powerplay.

He finished with eight fours and two sixes, cruising to victory with 18 balls to spare, and vitally keeping his team alive in the contest.

“The key is to remain as calm as possible. In the last game I was thinking a bit too much. The idea is to play 10-15 overs and the team benefits from that,” Kohli said after the match.

“(It was) a slow pass, but better under the lights.”

72* (44) v South Africa, Mirpur, 2014

South Africa have never lost a T20I after posting a score higher than 170 so far, and after scoring 172 in the semi-final of the 2014 T20 World Cup, even pessimistic Proteas fans may have thought they had finally broken the well-documented curse at ICC events .

Kohli had other ideas and the master went to work in the middle. Field manipulation, the right-hander’s 72* from 44 balls is all the more remarkable considering the fact that he hit just 32 runs from the boundary.

Needing 40 off the last four overs after losing Yuvraj Singh, Kohli was welcomed by Suresh Raina. Only one of the three dot balls in his innings came at the death and consistent flow between him and his partners saw India to victory with five balls to spare.

“Today was one of those days where I had to stay calm,” after receiving the man-of-the-match trophy.

“In T20s, I look at the target in the number of runs and overs I need to get, not runs and balls. The overs make it look easier.”

55* (37) v Pakistan, Kolkata, 2016

As the rain pelted the Eden Gardens, the surface in the middle tilted in favor of the bowlers taking over and the pressure to keep the 2016 campaign under their control was placed firmly on the shoulders of the batting line-up.

Kohli took Pakistan’s all out from 18 overs and the match was hampered by weather conditions. Shoaib Malik’s 26 (16) was the best of the opponents, and in addition to Kohli, he was accompanied by Yuvraj 24.

Although a man with an MRF in his hand would not be in the shadows. As if he was on a completely different surface, Kohli dedicated himself to his shots, as well as a bow in the direction of Sachin Tendulkar when he mentioned his half-century. India would seal victory with 13 balls to spare.

“It was a challenging wicket, that’s what you want as a cricketer – new challenges to play,” he said.

“But getting the team out of trouble gives me pleasure.” The focus becomes much more on such wickets. I think the score on the board makes me a better hunter.”

82* (51) v Australia, Mohali, 2016

The only knock that could possibly rival the heroics from Melbourne, was Kohli’s efforts in a crucial T20 World Cup 2016 match that hammered home the point of Kohli’s attacking prowess.

Taking on Australia in the quasi-quarter-finals, India were set 161 to win, with a chase rate of over 10 required, and ended up close to 12 with four overs to spare.

Kohli though timed his run to perfection, taking 19 runs from the 18th over off James Faulkner and 16 off Nathan Coulter-Nile. Faulkner bounced back, though Kohli hit him on the leg to tie the bow on his performance with 11 boundaries.

“You need challengers in every game, they improve you as a cricketer,” Kohli said.

“These edits have to be in my top three, maybe at the top right now because I’m a little emotional.”

82* (53) v Pakistan, Melbourne, 2022

No stage is bigger than the 90,000-plus MCG and India needed every bit of Kohli’s masterclass to win over their rivals.

Kohli came to the fore in the second over when KL Rahul (4) fell to Naseem Shah and after a Powerplay of 31/3 and 31/4 immediately after the loss of Akar Patel, Pakistan were on top.

Kohli never gave up, and with Hardik Pandya, the counter was settled.

The pair put on 103 and made the final attack. Pandya fell on the first delivery of the final over, though Kohli continued, putting Mohammad Nawaz in the stands with a waist-length full toss to make it six runs needed from the last three deliveries. He smartly ran out three runs after a free kick created havoc on his stumps, and watched as Ravichandran Ashwin moved to the offside to claim the winner.

“It’s a surreal atmosphere, I’m speechless, I have no idea how it happened. I’m really lost for words,” Kohli said moments later.

“The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one to bowl, so if I could get Harris off, they would panic. From 28 to 8, it was down to 16 to 6. I tried to stick to my instincts. The first was a backhand slower ball (the one over the long ball).”

“Standing here, I feel like it was meant to be. Till date, Mohali was my best innings against Australia. Today, I will make this count more.”