Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 5 (ANI): Virat Kohli once again proved why he thrives under pressure, delivering a match-winning knock of 84 off 98 balls against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday. His composed innings guided India to a crucial four-wicket victory, securing their place in the final.
Following Kohli’s stellar performance, his childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, heaped praise on the star batter, highlighting his ability to step up in high-pressure games.
“He is called King Kohli because I have always said that he is ‘bade match ka bada player.’ He showed that yesterday (against Australia in ICC Champions Trophy Semi-final 1), too. He showed that the tougher the competition, the better her bats. Mentally, he is very strong…Class is permanent, form is temporary. Everyone knows his contribution towards Indian Cricket, they know how many matches he has made the country win,” Sharma told ANI.
Apart from Kohli’s brilliance, Sharma also lauded the overall performance of Team India in the tournament.
“Team India has performed phenomenally…The atmosphere in the Indian dressing room is really good. Their morale is high and momentum is with India…I am very hopeful that India will definitely win this Champions Trophy,” he added.
With India riding on strong performances and Kohli leading from the front, the team now looks ahead to the final, aiming to lift yet another ICC trophy.
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. After an early wicket of Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (39 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) had a 50-run stand with Steve Smith. Smith carried on, with half-century stands against Marnus Labuschagne (29 in 36 balls, with two fours and a six) and Alex Carey (61 in 57 balls, with eight fours and a six). Carey was there till 48th over, untill a fine direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended his knock.
Australia was skittled out for 264 in 49.3 overs.
Shami (3/48) was the top bowler for India, while Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/40) also unleashed a spin web. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took a wicket each.
During the run chase, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (28 in 29 balls, with three fours and a six) and Shubman Gill (8) early and were reduced to 43/2. From then on, a 91-run partnership between Virat and Shreyas Iyer (45 in 62 balls, with three fours) brought India back into the game. Virat also had a brief 44-run stand with Axar Patel (27 in 30 balls, with a four and six) and a 47-run stand with KL Rahul (42* in 34 balls, with two fours and two sixes).
Hardik delivered a brief and fiery cameo, scoring 28 in 24 balls, with a four and three sixes, helping India seal a win. India finished at 267/6 in 48.1 overs.
Nathan Ellis (2/48) and Adam Zampa (2/60) were the top bowlers for Australia. (ANI)
