In 2011, as the Indian team did a lap of honour at the Wankhede Stadium after winning the World Cup, Virat Kohli lifted Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders. In 2024, as Kohli called time on his T20I career after winning the T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval, millions of Indian fans carried him in their hearts.
He is leaving on his own terms after scoring a 59-ball 76 against South Africa in the final and collecting the Player of the Match award. In a tournament that saw him struggle for runs in the lead-up to the final, Kohli saved the best for last. His knock held the Indian innings together and ensured that the team got to a match-winning total.
The start was spectacular, three fours in the very first over bowled by Marco Jansen. The deliveries were in the slot, asking to be hit, and they flew off Kohli’s bat.
But India lost Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession, and Kohli had to tone down his aggression. As far as the innings was concerned, resurrection became the need of the hour, and Kohli did it in company with Axar Patel, the team's all-purpose man.
Opening the innings in this T20 World Cup, Kohli had to change his game. Someone who likes to play at his own pace, trying to go gung-ho from the outset made him uncomfortable. It contributed to his dismissals. In the final, which would turn out to be his last T20I innings, Kohli got an opportunity to play his natural game. Axar was the enforcer in the middle overs. His more illustrious partner didn't mind playing second fiddle.
Fifty came off 48 balls and as he slowed down, some experts asked a few questions. But Kohli was taking the game deep. He started to accelerate only towards the end before getting out to Jansen. By then, India had 170-plus in sight. Kohli’s innings was resplendent in its game awareness; how to play to situations.
Kohli’s knock offered a throwback to his innings in the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mirpur. He had scored 77 off 58 balls, but India could only manage 130/4. Kohli didn't have support around him in that game. Circa 2024, and India have become a well-rounded outfit where success is no longer dependent on individual brilliance. The current team thrives on ‘total cricket’.
Against South Africa, Kohli could play his own game, because Axar made a final-defining 47 off 31 balls and Shivam Dube chipped in with an important cameo - 27 off 16 deliveries.
Back in 2014, India didn't have Jasprit Bumrah, the greatest fast bowler across formats in the history of Indian cricket. The team didn't have a seam-bowling all-rounder of Hardik Pandya’s calibre either. As Kohli exits the T20I stage, he will take pride in the team's evolution.
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