When it comes to chasing down big scores, Virat Kohli is universally regarded as the best in the world. The Indian team’s batting hero holds the record with 22 of his 46 ODI hundreds coming during successful run chases. The former India captain enjoys facing off against Pakistan because he is able to bring his “A game” against India’s bitter enemies.
Kohli has an ODI average of 48.72 versus Pakistan and a T20I average of an astounding 81.33. The 34-year-old’s preferred opponents have been the source of several of his failures. The most infamous of them was the 2017 Champions Trophy final, in which he scored 5 runs off 9 balls before being sent back to the pavilion.
The chase maestro was only at the crease for a total of eight balls, but he was given a life when Azhar Ali missed a routine catch at the first slip. The former Pakistan cricket player recently recalled the event, saying that he felt pressured after dropping India’s leading batsman on the big stage. He continued, saying he started to worry about the backlash he would face from everyone in the nation if Kohli scored heavily and brought India victory.
What did Azhar ali say about Virat Kohli?
“I saw it in reality. Between that drop catch and his dismissal, plenty of things flashed before my eyes. It felt as if I have been burdened with weight and pressure, and that the entire world is watching me asking as if ‘Look what he’s done’. That was my feeling and I thought ‘God forbid, if he does what he is famous for… if he chases this down – he scores a lot in chases – my house will get vandalised’. Fortunately, I was just thinking about all these scenarios and he got out the next ball,” Azhar said on ‘Hasna Mana Hai’.
Fortunately for Ali, the former Indian captain was out to a leading edge off Mohammed Amir that was caught by Shadab Khan at point off the very next ball.
Fakhar Zaman’s brilliant 114 off 106 deliveries propelled Pakistan to a mammoth 338-4 in their first innings and made him the game’s batting hero. The opener was spared an early dismissal by Jasprit Bumrah thanks to a no-ball. Shockingly, Ali said that Zaman had a dream about the identical occurrence a few days before the championship game.
The reigning champions, who were chasing a total of 339, were bowled out for 158, their lowest score ever against their bitter rivals. For the Sarfaraz Khan-led team, Mohammed Amir was the major destroyer with the ball, dismissing the illustrious top order of India for a total of 3/16 in just 6 overs. This included Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shikhar Dhawan.
India’s one bright spot was Hardik Pandya, whose 76 off of 43 balls was the only sign of resistance. A misunderstanding with Ravindra Jadeja, unfortunately, ended his innings.
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