India's best batsman has just turned 34 as the country's campaign at the T20 World Cup in Australia reaches the business end of the tournament. Despite being in the last leg of his career, Kohli is still going strong. And why not? He has been a champion player for the better part of a decade and has been India's go-to man across all formats.
He loves batting in Australia, and has a special love towards Adelaide, saving his most iconic knocks for the land Down Under. He hit his maiden Test century all way back in 2012 at the Adelaide Oval, and scored his highest T20 score outside of Asia in the same venue, in 2016.
He is also currently leading the runs chart in the ongoing T20 World Cup with 220 runs from his 4 innings so far.
So, today, on the occasion of his birthday, we take a look at his best knocks on Aussie soil
1) 116 vs Australia at Adelaide Oval, 2012 Test
Virat Kohli announced himself to the world during India's disastrous tour of Australia in 2011/12. He scored his maiden century in the fourth and final Test of the series, which India lost 4-0, at the Adelaide Oval and never looked back ever since.
It was poetic that his first century came in the direst of circumstances as he went on to become India's talisman, which he still is today.
Revisit the brilliant innings of a fiery, younger Kohli.
2) Twin tons vs Australia in Adelaide, 2014 Test - 115 & 141
Kohli's stock started to rise ever since his maiden Test century at the Adelaide Oval and just two years later he landed on Aussie soil to make his debut as captain this time, albeit temporarily.
His first Test on Aussie soil since that maiden ton was in the same venue, and he continued from where he left off.
Although he received good support from Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Murali Vijay, Kohli was the lone centurion in both innings. His fourth-innings ton is still one of the best he has hit in Australia, as his 141 almost took India to a very famous win. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as India fell short by 49 runs.
3) 133* vs Sri Lanka at Hobart, 2012 ODI
Possibly his best ODI innings to date in Australia, Kohli fired India to a brilliant win against Sri Lanka. The fiery young batsman scored an unbeaten 133 in just 86 balls as India made a mockery of Sri Lanka's target of 321, chasing it in just 36.4 overs.
It was a tri-series with Australia and India needed more than just a win to stay alive. After batting first, Sri Lanka set a steep target that India needed to chase within 40 overs. He came into bat in the 10th over, replacing Sachin Tendulkar as the score read 86/2 after 9.2 overs.
What followed next was a dazzling showmanship of boundary- and six-hitting, as he tore apart the Lankan attack to pieces. Kohli took on one of the most dangerous bowlers of that time and smashed Lasith Malinga to all parts of the ground as he saved India from elimination.
Words don't do justice to what Kohli produced that night, so watch it for yourself here.
4) 90* vs Australia at Adelaide Oval, 2016 T20
India was on a white-ball tour to Australia and had just lost the ODI series 4-1. Although the scoreline does flatter Australia as India had come close on most of the ODIs thanks to the batting unit.
However, India entered the 3-match T20 series with a point to prove and Kohli set the tone in the very first match. Put into bat first by Aaron Finch, Kohli powered India to 188/3 with a brilliant unbeaten knock of 90 in just 55 balls. He hit 9 boundaries and two maximums as India beat the home team by 37 runs as Kohli registered his then-highest T20 international score.
Watch his knock here:
5) 82* vs Pakistan at the MCG, 2022 T20 World Cup
We're saving the best for last. Kohli's heroics at the MCG in India's opening fixture of the T20 World Cup 2022 will be spoken of long after the tournament is done.
India was staring at an embarrassing defeat to arch-rival Pakistan, tottering at 31-4 while chasing 160 to win. Kohli played his best-ever T20 innings for India -- his own words -- as India won one of the most dramatic T20 games of all time.
In front of 90,000 passionate fans, Kohli displayed extraordinary levels of composure to help the Men in Blue pull off a win that not even the most-loyal Indian fan imagined was possible.
Relive the drama, which had more twists in the tale than your favourite thriller movie:
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