The camaraderie between current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli and his predecessor, MS Dhoni had been apparent even when the latter was part of the Indian team. Now that Dhoni is officially announced his retirement, Kohli’s tributes and accolades for a man who he says “will always be my captain” have poured in as Virat relived the matches the two have played together. On Sunday, Kohli posted clips from two of his memorable partnerships with Dhoni in ICC T20 World Cups.
In the first video, there were some clips of India’s semi-final clash against South Africa in the 2014 edition while the second was from a knockout clash against Australia in the 2016 tournament. India won both the matches and Kohli reminisced on how gestures from his captain Dhoni helped in teh growth of their relationship.
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Tweeting the video, Kohli wrote: “Thank you for these moments skip. I couldn’t explain the mutual trust, respect and understanding we share better than these two videos I’m posting here today. The first one explains perfectly well who he is, selfless in the most intense moments.”
Thank you for these moments skip.
I couldn't explain the mutual trust, respect and understanding we share better than these two videos I'm posting here today.
The first one explains perfectly well who he is , selfless in the most intense moments…. pic.twitter.com/DYWvJ9ojOv
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 16, 2020
By the 19th over in the semi-final against South Africa in Dhaka India had required just one run to win the match. Dhoni chose to play out the last ball of the penultimate over so that Kohli, who had batted quite brilliantly for 68, could hit the winning runs. Virat scored a boundary on the first ball of the final over for four as India reached their target of 173 with five balls to spare. Kohli remained unbeaten on 72 and was chosen the Man of the Match.
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The second clip is from the clash against Australia in Mohali in the T20 World Cup 2016 – remembered for the duo’s 67-run partnership in last 5.1 overs that took India into the semis – shows a brace that they ran a double off a gentle dab by Dhoni that didn’t even take the ball past the 30-yard circle.
..He called & I put my head down and ran!
Mutual respect and understanding isn't a thing of chance, it develops naturally when 2 individuals are aligned & have the same vision and for us, that vision was always to make India win! Thank you for the memories skip 🇮🇳💙 @msdhoni
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 16, 2020
Recalling the moment, Virat said, “The second one is about the kind of trust & chemistry we had over the years while batting together. In this moment I was only focused on his call & I knew we both would be able to make those 2 runs because of the trust we shared in one another. He called & I put my head down and ran!”
As they completed a two Michael Slater, who was commentating on the game, remarked in astonishment: “You can’t run a two there! Mutual respect and understanding isn’t a thing of chance, it develops naturally when 2 individuals are aligned & have the same vision and for us, that vision was always to make India win! Thank you for the memories skip.”
