‘That match gave him back his kingdom’ – Shoaib Akhtar recalls Virat Kohli’s miraculous 82* knock against Pakistan on his 15th anniversary in international cricket
On Friday, August 18, 2023, batting stalwart Virat Kohli completed 15 years in international cricket. The 34-year-old, who made his debut on the big stage against Sri Lanka in 2008, has been the backbone of the Indian batting unit since the early days of his career. The former India captain suffered a lean patch for almost three years but bounced back in style and his 82* against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup underlined that form is temporary and class is permanent.
As Kohli celebrates his 15th anniversary in international cricket, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar recalled the right-hander’s sensational 82* (53) against his country in a fully packed crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was Pakistan’s game until Kohli unleashed his superpower to dash the hopes of India’s arch-rivals singlehandedly. The legendary Pakistani cricketer said that the game was all about Kohli and the cricket gods wanted him to win it.
“That match was all about Virat Kohli. The cricket Gods wanted to do it for him. He wasn’t in the best of form, and was facing a lot of heat from you guys in India. The media was after him. It was as of God was telling him – this is your stage, come and become king again,” Akhtar said on the show ‘Backstage with Boria’ on RevSportz.
That match gave him back his kingdom: Akhtar
Pakistan had the upper hand after India’s top order was removed cheaply. Kohli was on 15* (23) at one stage but later accelerated to take India to a position where 48 was required to win off the last 18 balls. His two sixes against Haris Rauf in the 19th over swung the match in India’s favour.
“If you see all that transpired – rain and a lot of it, 100,000 people, 1.3 billion Indians watching, 30 crore Pakistanis watching, the whole world in awe – the stage was set for Kohli. It was the greatest stage of all. When you add the two sixes that he hit off Haris Rauf, that match gave him back his kingdom. I think it was all destined for him on that day at the MCG,” Akhtar added.
After last year’s nailbiting contest, the two teams are set to face each other for multiple showdowns over the next few months as the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup are around the corner. While Indian fans are expecting similar magical innings from Kohli in the 50-over format, Pakistani fans are hoping that their team will get revenge against the Men in Blue.
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