The former India coach Greg Chappell said Virat Kohli’s knock to take India over the line against Pakistan was as close to a “Song by God” as it ever gets.
India began their T20 World Cup campaign in Australia with a spectacular victory over their arch-rivals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The protagonist of that thriller was none other than Virat, who stayed unbeaten to clinch the win from the jaw of Pakistan.
Chasing 160, Team India were in a massive hole at 31 for 4 before Kohli and Hardik Pandya stitched together a crucial partnership. Kohli went on to score an unbeaten 82 off 53 to pull off an impossible-looking feat. The majestic knock garnered praise from all corners of the cricket world.
The former Australia captain and ex-India coach Chappell reserved high praises for Kohli, calling him ”the most complete Indian batter” of his time. In his column for Sydney Morning Herald, Chappell went on to say that the knock Kohli played was a ‘Song by God’.
“Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions have the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere,”
Chappell wrote.
“Kohli played an innings that was as close to a ‘song by god’ as has ever been played in T20 cricket. Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG,”
he added.
For his magnificent knock, Kohli won the player of the match award. India are in a pretty good position in the world cup, having won both their games. Two wins out of the remaining three matches guarantee them a spot in the semifinals.
