Team India is on the verge of advancing to the 20-20 World Cup semi-finals. On Wednesday, the team defeated Bangladesh in a dramatic finish in a rain-soaked match in Adelaide, claiming its third victory in four matches. India is currently leading Group 2 and will face Zimbabwe in their final Super 12 match on Sunday.
The impressive form of Virat Kohli has been a major factor in India’s victories in the 20-20 World Cup thus far. He got India’s tournament off to a flying start, scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls to lead the team to a memorable win over Pakistan. He hit an unbeaten half-century against the Netherlands and a valiant 64* off 44 deliveries in India’s final match against Bangladesh, playing a key role in all three of India’s victories in the tournament.
Furthermore, Kohli’s six off the back foot against Haris Rauf in the match against Pakistan drew widespread praise from fans and former cricketers worldwide. While discussing the shot on the Sydney Morning Herald, former Australia captain Ian Chappell recalled an interview he did with Kohli a few years ago. He revealed Kohli’s response to a question about not trying “fancy shots.”
“We did an interview with Virat Kohli, couple of years ago. It was a magnificent example of talking about the game. When we asked Virat about why don’t you use some of the fancy shots, he said, ‘I don’t want them to creep into my Test game’. That’s one of the amazing things about Virat Kohli. He makes all these runs at a very good rate, and he does it with normal cricketing shots,” Chappell recalled.
It’s a cricket shot: Ian Chappell
Kohli’s shot against Haris Rauf, according to Chappell, was a genuine cricketing shot. He stated that those shots are usually played from the ground, but Kohli took it in the air.
“Few alleviate and get hit into the stands, that doesn’t mean it’s a slog. As Mark (Taylor) described, off the backfoot, hitting straight, it’s a cricket shot, except you don’t hit it in the air. But he did, and he did 90 metres,” Chappell said.
