The fact that Virat Kohli and KL Rahul had to slog it out in the middle was one of the key reasons why their match-winning combination against Australia was remarkable, according to the star Indian batter.
From a disastrous situation at 2/3, the two batsmen eventually dragged India’s innings back on track with pure tenacity and superb temperament. They had to run hard between the wickets, and Kohli relished the experience.
Virat Kohli told KL Rahul on their partnership in a video issued by the BCCI:
“The highlight of our partnership for me was how content we were to just knock the ball around. It was not about how many balls we had played and how many runs we had got.
“Just fighting through the physical challenges of what we had come through in the afternoon and in the evening the pressure even makes you more tensed and fatigued. Just knocking the ball around and reducing the total by 10-15 runs at a time. That for me was something that helped us build the big partnership.”
Virat Kohli
Kohli also commented on the hysteria produced by the batting collapse:
“I know the situation wasn’t ideal. When you came in, I know you were all over the place while walking in and you were still padding up and putting gloves and all that (laughs). The first thing I told you was that it was a quick turnaround. It was quite bizarre. The start was quite bizarre.”
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli Shares His Experience of Playing at His Home Pavilion in World Cup
India’s upcoming World Cup game against Afghanistan will take place in Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which holds special significance for Indian captain Virat Kohli. The stadium is his home ground and even has a pavilion named after him. Kohli expressed his privilege and nostalgia in returning to the place where his journey began.
In response, he stated:
“Of course for me that’s a place where I have played my age-group cricket, Ranji trophy cricket and for India as well. So that memory is always fresh as when you go back into those memories you can feel it because that’s where everything started. It’s a bit awkward for me to be still playing and playing in front of a pavilion named after me.
“I don’t like to talk a lot about it but it’s a great honor and I hadn’t thought that it would happen when my career started and I feel great to go back and see the things that have happened.”
Virat Kohli
Considering the past encounters between Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli, it would be an intriguing showdown if they were to compete in Kohli’s home ground.