Virat Kohli helped India win the Champions Trophy semifinal by scoring 84 on a slow pitch in Dubai. Kohli had to descend to bat in the sixth over. From here, he made 3 big partnerships with Shreyas Iyer, Akshar Patel and KL Rahul and made the run chase easier.
Kohli was out before the team led to victory, but when he returned to the pavilion, only 40 runs were needed. This is not the first time Virat has played big innings in a big match. Earlier, he helped to win his team by playing 7 important innings in the knockout matches of the ICC tournament.
Virat's 8 important innings …
1. Legs on a slow pitch
India last beat Australia in the knockout match of the ICC tournament in 2011. Since then the team has played 3 knockout matches against the kangaroos, of which India lost in all three. Now Australia is once again in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy. The team got a target of 265 runs on a difficult pitch in Dubai.
India lost their first wicket in the sixth over. Kohli had to descend to bat. Captain Rohit Sharma was out for 28 against him. Virat then took over the innings, scored 91 with Shreyas Iyer, 44 with Akshar Patel and 47 with KL Rahul. This partnership simplified the run chase. Kohli scored 84, eventually Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul gave the team a victory.
2. T20 World Cup snatched from South Africa
Virat Kohli was in bad form in the T20 World Cup of the 2024. There was not a single Fifty from his bat until the semifinals. The final was played against South Africa, in which the team lost 3 wickets in just 34 runs against Kohli.
After losing the opening wicket, Virat batted with Akshar Patel cautiously. The two shared 72 runs. Virat scored 76 runs with 6 fours and two sixes. The team scored 176 and stopped South Africa at 169. Kohli received the Player of the Match award for her matchwinning performance.
3. In the semifinal stopped Stan-Tahir
India faced South Africa in the 2014 T20 World Cup semifinal. Batting first, Protiaz scored 172. The team lost its first wicket in the powerplay against the bowling of Dale Stan, Imran Tahir and Albi Morkel.
The team also lost its second wicket for 77 runs in 10 overs. 96 runs were needed in the last 10 overs, but Kohli survived at one end. He played shots freely. He scored 72 off just 44 balls with 5 fours and two sixes and won the team 5 balls before. Kohli was also player of the match here.
4. Beat host England in the final
India and England came to the final of the Champions Trophy in 2013. The match was 20-20 overs due to rain. India batted first and lost their first wicket in just 19 runs. Kohli came to bat, but he lost 5 wickets for 66 runs.
Kohli then together with Ravindra Jadeja took over the arch of the innings. He scored 43 off 34 balls with 4 fours and 1 six. With his innings, the team was able to score 129 runs. In reply, host England were only able to score 124 runs and India won the Champions Trophy title for the second time.
5. First century in ICC knockout
Until October 2023, Virat Kohli scored a lot of Fifty in the ICC tournament's knockout matches, but did not score a single century. On November 15, the team clashed against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup semifinals in Mumbai.
After a good start from the openers, Kohli first came to bat in the powerplay. He played 117 runs with 9 fours and two sixes. By scoring the first century in his ODI career and the first century in the ICC tournament, he scored the team's score to 397. In reply, New Zealand could only score 327 runs and India won the match.
6. The Champions Trophy missed a century in the semifinal
The Bangladeshi team was in excellent form in the 2017 Champions Trophy. The team defeated New Zealand in Group A and made it to the semifinals. The match against India was played in the seaming state of Birmingham. Bangladesh scored 264 runs first. The team had bowlers like Mashrafe Murtaza and Mustafizur Rahman.
Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for 46 in reply to 265 runs. From here, Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli batted brilliantly and added 178 off 153 balls. Rohit Sharma played 123 runs. Virat missed a century, but won the team by playing an unbeaten 96 -run innings.
7. The second match-winning fifty in the semifinal
India faced Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy in 2013. Sri Lankan team was able to score only 181 runs, batting first. Facing a small target, Virat won India by playing a brilliant 58 -run innings. Sri Lankan top bowlers Nuwan Kulashekara and Lasith Malinga took 35 overs to chase 182 runs.
8. Important Partnership in the World Cup final
India faced Sri Lanka in the 2011 ODI World Cup final. The team has been waiting for the title for 28 years. Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274 runs. Facing a difficult goal, India lost 2 wickets for just 31 runs.
Kohli came to bat fourth. He made a very important partnership of 83 runs with Gautam Gambhir. Kohli just scored 35 runs, but his partnership with Gambhir crossed the team's figures. This was his first big innings in the knockout of the ICC tournament. Based on the foundation of the innings, the team won the ODI World Cup after 28 years.
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Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).