Indian superstar Virat Kohli played a knock of a lifetime against Pakistan in their opener of the 20-20 World Cup 2022. Many people have praised the knock as the best they’ve ever seen, and Greg Chappell has joined the conversation.
According to Australian legend Greg Chappell, Kohli’s innings against Pakistan was close to being a ‘song of god,’ the literal translation of the ‘Bhagvad Gita,’ and has legitimised T20 cricket as an “art form”. Kohli’s knock stunned Pakistan in India’s T20 World Cup opener, and Chappell said the former skipper is the “most complete Indian batsman” of his generation.
“The Bhagavad Gita is the holy book which is the synthesis of Hinduism. Literally translated, it means “the song by God”. Kohli played an innings that was as close to a ‘song by god’ as has ever been played in T20 cricket,” Chappell wrote in his column for the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.
The 74-year-old stated that Kohli’s aggressive knock elevated the art of batting to a new level, effectively legitimising T20 cricket as an art form. “Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG,” he said.
“….It was an innings that showcased the art of batting like no other that I have seen in a lifetime of watching cricket. Ironically, it was also the innings that legitimised T20 cricket as, dare I say it, an art form, more than any that I have seen in the past 15 years. Nobody can dismiss T20 cricket as simply entertainment ever again,” wrote the former India coach,” he added.
It was simply impossible to look away: Greg Chappell
Only World Cup-winning Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, according to Chappell, could have pulled off such a win, and it was impossible to look away when Kohli was batting. “I can think of many of the best hitters in the modern game who could have pulled off a similar victory, and probably have, but none has ever done it with pure batting skills in the manner that Kohli did against Pakistan,” he said.
“Only Adam Gilchrist has come close in the past, but this was even more esoteric than some of his most sublime efforts. It was simply impossible to look away,” he added.
