‘Aliens do walk among us’: Pakistan legend heaps praise on Virat Kohli after his memorable knock at MCG
Virat Kohli produced one of the best knocks of his career to help India beat Pakistan by 4 wickets in their T20 World Cup 2022 opener at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on Sunday (October 24). Kohli played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 82 to help India chase down the target of 160 runs in a dramatic finish.
India were rocked early in their pursuit of the 160-run target after their excellent show with the ball as openers KL Rahul (4) and Rohit Sharma (4) were both sent back cheaply. The Men in Blue were reduced to 31/4 inside the first seven overs as Pakistan pacers dominated the proceedings.
However, Kohli decided to take on the onus upon himself as he combined with Hardik Pandya to pull India back into the contest. The duo added a crucial stand of 113 runs for the fifth wicket and kept India in the hunt till the end. With 48 runs to get off the final three overs, Pandya struggled to play the big shots but Kohli shifted the gears seamlessly.
He looked in sublime control as the senior batter played some stunning shots to all parts of the ground. He smacked three fours against Shaheen Afridi before smashing two stunning sixes against Haris Rauf in the penultimate over to bring the equation down to 16 runs required off the last over.
Kohli then slammed a six off the fourth delivery off the final over from Mohammad Nawaz which turned out to be a no-ball as luck favoured the brave. India went on to clinch the thriller on the final ball with R Ashwin showing great temperament under pressure to play the winning shot.
Kohli was lauded by many for his heroic knock as he was the main architect of India’s victory with his unbeaten 82 off 53 balls laced with six fours and four sixes. Several former Pakistan cricketers also heaped praise on the batting maestro, including the legendary Wasim Akram, who compared him to aliens.
Akram called Kohli an alien among humans after being left in awe following his match-winning heroics at the MCG. “Aliens do walk among us, he’s one of the best I’ve seen in the recent or modern greats. He has been scoring for the last 15 years, and he has the best average while chasing,” said the former Pakistan cricketer.
Kohli himself rated his knock against Pakistan as the best he has played in his career so far. The former India skipper looked in superb control throughout his knock despite having started slowly. He had managed only 11 runs off his first 20 balls but switched gears brilliantly to end up wth 71 runs off the next 33 deliveries.
After getting off to a flying start in the tournament, Kohli will be hoping to continue his fine form when India lock horns with Netherlands in their next Super 12 encounter on Thursday (October 27).
