The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli played a classical knock in the first innings of the third T20I of the five-match series between India and England at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, the hosts witnessed another poor start as they failed to produce results after England threatened to blow them away with pace upfront.
However, the Men in Blue managed to put a decent total, in the end, owing to some brilliant batting display by the skipper. Going into the game, Eoin Morgan won the toss and invited Virat Kohli & Co. to bat first. India didn’t get off to a good start as the new opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul flattened on the pitch and both lost their wickets to right-arm quick Mark Wood.
ALSO READ: Fans Blame Virat Kohli For Runnings Out Rishabh Pant In Third T20
While Rahul was dismissed for another duck, Rohit also had to go back to the pavilion after adding 15 runs to the scoreboard. Even, Ishan Kishan only managed to score just 4 runs after facing 9 deliveries. Virat Kohli, who walked out to bat at number 4, had a slow start to his innings as he was looking to carry forward to the form he got back in the second T20. He along with Rishabh Pant stitched a crucial 40-run partnership with the latter adding 25 runs but a misjudgment by Kohli resulted in Pant’s dismal run-out.
This was followed by India losing Shreyas Iyer as well in 1the 15th over. Thus far, Kohli remained a constant on one end but had a poor strike-rate as in the first 25 balls he could manage just 24 runs. However, from the 16th over, Kohli decided to go berserk over the England bowlers.
ALSO READ: Dinesh Karthik Feels Power-hitting Ability Of Ishan Kishan Is Special
The batting maestro single-handedly helped India to reach a total of 156 as in the next 21 balls he scored a whopping 53 runs. He played some of the mind-boggling shots which confirmed that he was back at his best. In the end, it was his knock that helped India to post a competitive total with Virat Kohli scoring 77* off 46 deliveries at a stunning strike-rate of 167.39.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Kohli’s knock:
Virat Kohli’s pure master class in wood’s over…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 16, 2021
Genius @imVkohli !! Of all the great players he is the most pleasing on the eye … #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 16, 2021
Master class from @imVkohli 👌👌 #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/zOHNL8ngzj
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 16, 2021
Captain rocks. With the unbelievable talent and mind game, he dominated English bowlers. @imVkohli @BCCI #INDvENG
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) March 16, 2021
Another class performance from @imVkohli paaji… 🙌🏻 Maza aa gaya dekh ke. #IndvEng
— rishi dhawan (@rishid100) March 16, 2021
What looked like a 120 total for #TeamIndia turned to 150 odd due to the sheer brilliance of King @imVkohli !I think this might one of the few times when @hardikpandya7 played second fiddle in a partnership! Thoroughly enjoyed the knock & those back 2 back 6s! #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/FiaoZNPqBd
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) March 16, 2021
Good flourish in the last 5 from India. Not enough but makes the game competitive. Fantastic innings from @imVkohli and very good support from @hardikpandya7
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) March 16, 2021
156 then. AND something very special from Virat Kohli.
Game on!!!
— Ian Bell MBE (@Ian_Bell) March 16, 2021
Virat Kohli v Mark Wood in this game:
0 4 1 1 6 6 4 0
England's best bowler of the series has been hit for 22 off 8 by the India skipper 😅#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/9k1dCQOCio
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) March 16, 2021
👑 Virat Kohli in T20Is:
Runs: 3,078
High score: 94*
Average: 52.16
Strike-rate: 138.96
Fifties: 27#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/4jxLwWeS8u— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) March 16, 2021
India today last five overs : 69/1 (13.8)
Kohli last 17 balls : 49 runs (SR : 288.24)Mindful batting from Kohli yet again!#INDvENGt20
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) March 16, 2021
