When Virat Kohli took the under-19 team to a World Cup win in 2008, he was touted to be the next big batsman in Indian colours. However, he had to wait for a substantial amount of time as Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina made their ODI debuts ahead of him.
Today, he captains one of them and the other is no longer a part of the Indian squad.
The story of Kohli’s meteoric rise in the ranks of Indian cricket is fairly straightforward - every chapter tells a tale of a match-winning knock and every section constitutes of consistent performances against top sides in high-pressure situations.
A clash against Pakistan is probably the pinnacle of ‘high-pressure’ situation for any Indian cricketer. Kohli has been exceptional in that regard. Not only has he played match-winning knocks against India’s arch-rivals but has also impressed cricket pundits all over the world with his ability to soak pressure and infuse it in elevating his game.
Let us look at the five times Kohli appeased the Pakistan bowling attack in the biggest of ICC events. He was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ in all these games.
#5 ICC World Twenty20 – Colombo, 2012
Pakistan had put up a meagre total of 128/10 in 19.4 overs at the end of the first innings. The total looked easily accessible for the strong Indian batting line-up.
However, the strong bowling unit of their neighbours was capable of putting these strong batsmen in a diorama of trouble – a couple of quick wickets at the top of the order could have rattled their psyche while chasing the tricky target.
When Gautam Gambhir fell for a duck at 1-1, in came Kohli, a chase-master in making. He had already conquered two mammoth totals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that year in two sensational ODI matches. However, his T20 exploits were yet to be unleashed.
He successfully weathered the storm at the start of his innings when Raza Hasan was breathing fire with his fast-paced deliveries. Blending attack with caution, he constructed a beautiful knock of 78 from just 61 balls while successfully conquering the Pakistan attack.
He remained not out with nine boundaries and two sixes at the end of it all.
His part-time bowling too scalped wickets in the match. Mohammad Hafeez was bowled for 15 at the top of the innings with his right-arm medium bowling.
#4 ICC World Twenty20 – Kolkata, 2016
Fast-forward to 2016. The score is 14-1 as Kohli walks out to the middle after a Rohit Sharma wicket. Pakistan notched up a below par total of 118 for the Indians and it does not look like a tough task for the hosts, in spite of the early wicket.
Suddenly, India are stranded at 23-3 as Raina departs for a first-ball duck. Kohli has hardly had any time to settle as he keeps losing partners at the other end. The seemingly easy target now seems like a mountain to climb.
Yuvraj Singh enters and Kohli finally finds a semblance of normality as the pair settle into a rhythmic partnership. Both Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Sami are running in hard, but both the players handle their attack professionally. They compile 61 runs for the fourth wicket before Singh falls for a well-played 24.
MS Dhoni finds the 27-year-old on the crease and the pair guide India to yet another win against Pakistan in World Cup tournaments. Kohli reaches his 14th T20 international fifty and becomes the second youngest player to reach 1000 international runs in the format.
#3 Asia Cup – Mirpur, 2016
The ability of the world best chasers is tested in matches with slow pitches and low targets, where the match can swing at any step of the second innings. Pakistan was batting first yet again, and they crumbled like nine pins yet again. This time, all they could manage was an 83/10 in 17.3 overs.
Kohli walks out on the pitch at the score of 0 for the loss of one wicket. What followed after can unarguably be considered to be the most sorted, controlled and resilient T20 knock from the willow of Virat Kohli. He anchored the innings, helped India writhe to the target with a total of 85/5 and scored almost 58% of those runs.
He scored 49 from 51 balls before getting dismissed, at a strike rate that was pretty fast considering the fact that both the Mohammads (Amir and Sami) bowled at a combined economy of 4.25. The fact that he hit seven out of ten boundaries scored by India further indicates the one-man show on display that evening.
He also contributed in the field when he effected the run-out of Khurram Manzoor in the first innings.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 reasons why India will win the tournament
#2 ICC World Cup – Adelaide, 2015
The current Indian skipper might be a chase-master, but he is no pushover in the first innings too. Batting first against an inspired Pakistan attack in India’s first game of the tournament, the Delhi batsman was unstoppable from the word go.
He took guard after Sharma’s wicket at 34 and along with Shikhar Dhawan, built a colossal partnership of 129 runs. The two of them steered India to a total of exactly 300 with some help from Suresh Raina.
The bowlers did manage to get his dismissal this time around, but not before he had played a sublime innings of 107 off 126 balls.
He took the crucial catch of Shahid Afridi in the field to restrict Pakistan to 220/9 in 50 overs. It was Pakistan’s 6th straight loss to India at the World Cup.
Once again, it was Kohli who played a pivotal role in India’s victory. He proved to be the hero once again, and this time, it was a clash that was sold out in 20 minutes and was attended by over 20,000 Indian fans.
#1 Asia Cup – Dhaka, 2012
This is an innings that needs no introduction! Saurav Ganguly did it in 1999, Dhoni did it in 2005 and Kohli did it in 2012. The one thing that the three Indian captains have in common is their highest ODI score of 183. Dhoni and Kohli remained unbeaten at the end of it all. The latter probably did it in the most high-pressure situations at the biggest of stages.
India needed a victory in this match to keep their chances alive in the tournament. Pakistan batted first and thanks to sensational centuries from both its opening batsmen, strutted to a humungous total of 329. It looked almost impossible for India to chase such a gargantuan total this time around.
However, India had a magician named Kohli. Right since he came out to face the 3rd delivery of the innings, his bat effused confidence and his strokeplay ensued magic as he went on to win the match for his country and his countrymen.
The then 23-year-old built two massively important partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh while storming to 183* off just 148 balls.
His mammoth innings led to India chasing the target with more than three overs to spare. It also was their highest run chase of all time, overtaking the historic 326 chased at Lords.
Also Read: Which Virat Kohli will turn up for the 2017-18 Season?
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