Having lost the WTC final to Australia in London, India will be aiming to put in a better display in the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, scheduled to be held in home conditions from October 5-November 19. Team India last won an ICC trophy in 2013 and the drought continued. Last year too, India came close in the 2022 T20 World Cup, but crashed out after a semi-final defeat against eventual champions England.
Despite their semi-final exit, India had plenty of positives, especially the resurgence of Virat Kohli. Kohli had been in poor form, but found his footing in the 2022 Asia Cup, and then carried that momentum into the T20 World Cup. Kohli’s resurgence was well-reflected in India’s tournament opener in Melbourne. Rohit Sharma and Co. faced arch-rivals Pakistan in their opener and were chasing a target of 160 runs.
The match went on till the final over, where India needed 16 runs off six deliveries. Having been given the responsibility to bowl the final over, Mohammad Nawaz began with the wicket of Hardik Pandya, followed by a single to Dinesh Karthik. In the third delivery, Kohli bagged a double. The fourth delivery proved to be pivotal. Receiving a full toss, Kohli sent it to deep square, where the fielder managed to get a hand on it but failed to flick it back as it went past the ropes for a six. Also, the delivery was fairly high and the umpire judged it as a no-ball and suddenly India needed six off three balls. In the fourth delivery, Kohli received a wide ball, followed by three leg byes.
But India received a minor hiccup in the fifth delivery, as Dinesh Karthik got stumped and had to depart, with R Ashwin arriving in the final delivery. With two runs needed, Ashwin received a wide ball, which levelled proceedings. Then he scooped Nawaz over mid-off to finish off the match as India reached 160/6 in 20 overs. Kohli finished the match with an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off 53 balls, packed with six fours and four sixes, and also received the Player of the Match award.
Recalling the moment, Ashwin revealed what was actually going on in his mind when he came to bat in the final delivery and also revealed how he knew that India would win the match. Speaking to ICC, he said, “I was cursing Dinesh Karthik for asking me to do the tougher job. As I was just cursing him, when I walked in, I realised the enormity of what I was getting in to. People yelling, I haven’t seen such a crowd ever.”
India’s senior off-spinner also spoke about his conversation with Virat Kohli.
“Virat just gave me like seven options to play off that one ball. If only I was that capable of playing all those shots I wouldn’t be batting at no. 8. I just talked to myself, I couldn’t say that to him. I looked at Virat and his eyes seemed like he was possessed. I said, okay he’s on another planet and let me come back to earth. The moment he bowled a wide I knew I won the contest.
“I think cricket in so many ways is going to give you a lot of messages that way. So that’s where I brought my positivity from. I knew I’d won the game.
“I think about it every night when I go to sleep. To be honest what happens, every time I see the video on social media, I think about it, what if the ball had just gripped and hit my pad. It was pretty close for comfort. I just felt that the game was meant to be finished by me. That’s how I felt honestly terrific innings by Virat and one of the better games I’ve watched and been a part of,” he further added.
India topped Group 2 in the Super 12 stage, with eight points from five matches. But fell to a heavy defeat vs England in the semi-finals. Kohli finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 296 runs in six matches, at an average of 98.66.
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