Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: List of Virat Kohli’s best knocks against Pakistan in T20Is | Best innings by Virat Kohli against Pakistan in T20Is
India suffered a crushing loss against Pakistan in their Super 4 encounter on Sunday. However, the Rohit Sharma-led side can draw some solace from Virat Kohli’s 60-run knock that powered the team to 181 runs in the first innings.
Kohli came into the Asia Cup on the back of an indifferent run of form. He had taken a month-long break from cricket and missed the team’s tours to the Caribbean and Zimbabwe. The slight time off seems to have served the former skipper well as he appears to be getting into his true element with every passing game, and will be looking to continue the recent resurgence in upcoming matches.
Virat Kohli’s best knocks in T20Is vs Pakistan
Kohli has historically performed well against Pakistan in T20Is and Sunday was no exception to the same. Here is a look at some of Virat’s best innings against India’s rivals.
82* in 2022 T20 World Cup
This is not only Virat Kohli’s best innings against Pakistan, but one of his best knocks ever. India were in all sorts of trouble in their 2022 T20 World Cup opener against arch-rivals Pakistan, before Kohli held the fort and then exploded in the final overs. This performance was particularly sweet for Virat, given his struggles in the previous two years or so.
His shot off Haris Rauf with 28 needed off eight balls is etched in history. Check out the reactions here.
78* in 2012 T20 World Cup
In what was a young Kohli’s first encounter with Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, Kohli steered an incredible innings to lead India to a successful chase of 129 runs. Though the total was very modest, Kohli notched 78 runs in 61 deliveries.
The entire chase revolved around Kohli’s efforts as the contributions by the rest of the batsmen were mainly miniscule. There was an early scare as Gautam Gambhir departed for a duck in the inaugural over itself. It was a complete Kohli show from thereon and India managed to secure the victory in the 17th over.
55* in 2016 T20 World Cup
The Pakistani bowlers manage to make a game out of even slightly under-par totals mainly due to the proficiency of their new-ball bowlers. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, Mohammed Amir’s opening spell dismantled the Indian top-order. The conditions appeared conducive to the seam bowlers and India suddenly found themselves to be in a spot of bother.
However, much like his natural gameplay, Kohli held one end to perfection. India was only set a target of 118 runs and the total ensured that the batsman didn’t have to up the ante as the game progressed. The 34-year-old capped off the match with a trademark salute to Sachin Tendulkar who proudly congratulated the Indian batsman from the stands.
49 in 2016 Asia Cup
Continuing with the trend of Pakistan optimizing their bowling resources, the neighborhood rivals ensured that MS Dhoni’s men got a tough contest even whilst chasing 84 runs in the 2016 Asia Cup. Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were sent back for a duck whereas Suresh Raina could add only a solitary run to the team’s tally. Kohli weathered Amir and Mohammed Sami’s storm to perfection as he bided his time to make a cautious 49 on an extremely testing surface. He did the bulk of the work in a crucial 68-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh that helped India seal its fate in this contest.
60 in 2022 Asia Cup
Never before has Kohli encountered a poor run of form as stark as the one he was battling prior to the ongoing Asia Cup. There were calls to displace him from the T20I squad but he has reiterated his importance in the setup with three consecutive knocks of terrific value and significance.
His 60-run innings on Sunday might not have been the most of fluent of his efforts so far but it certainly helped India recover very well from a jolt in the middle-overs. He anchored the innings to perfection and brought up his half-century with a sublime six over mid-wicket that raised hopes of him slowly getting back to his natural groove.
India might have lost the game but they will take a lot of heart from the performance that Kohli put up against the arch-rivals. After all, his form is of utmost importance for India’s chances to lay their hands in the T20 World Cup next month.
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