As the team’s captain on the field and at the bat, Rohit Sharma has guided India’s push into the ICC T20 World Cup final, while Virat Kohli, their former captain, is still in the spotlight—albeit for different reasons.
The 35-year-old, who has represented India in 529 games since making his debut in 2008 and amassed nearly 29,000 runs in all forms, has performed poorly in this competition.
With his spot on the Indian team in jeopardy, Kohli finds himself in an odd situation. Despite being 110 runs behind the tournament’s top scorer, Rohit, India’s second-highest run scorer in T20 internationals, has only scored 75 runs in his seven innings, with his best score coming against Bangladesh.
It is unclear whether the match and the final will be his final appearance in an ICC Cricket World Cup, even though his spot in India’s starting lineup will be certain.
India has had many moments of joy and agony as a result of Kohli’s genius. Now that one of the greatest batters in history is going through a slump, will his teammates be able to repay him on Saturday?
We reflect on five of his best limited-over performances on the world stage that solidified his status as a game icon:
2011: India’s Cricket World Cup victory under Kohli
Three years after making his debut for his country in an ODI against Sri Lanka, Kohli led India to victory in the 2011 domestic 50-over Cricket World Cup. Alongside Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir—who scored the most in the match against Sri Lanka with 97 runs—was the 22-year-old Kohli.
Although Kohli only made brief appearances in the competition’s knockout rounds and championship game, he scored 59 in the last group stage encounter against the West Indies thanks to a 123-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh for the third wicket. Along with opening the tournament with an unbroken hundred off 83 balls against Bangladesh, he helped India amass 370-4 and win the match by 84 runs.
2012: The emergence of a limited-overs genius
With an innings that had everyone paying attention, Kohli solidified his place as the new superstar of Indian cricket a year after the team won the World Cup. India was finding it difficult to score large totals in a tri-nation ODI series in Australia that also featured Sri Lanka. India needed to chase down their goal of 321 inside 40 overs to have a chance of making the final, as Kohli left the field with his team behind 86-2 in the tenth over with his team on the edge of elimination from the tri-series in Australia. As India pursued the mark, the right-hander destroyed the Sri Lankan attack, particularly Lasith Malinga, who he hit for 24 runs in an over. He finished undefeated at 133.
2012: Mirpur miracle against Pakistan
Not long after his incredible performance against Sri Lanka, Kohli produced another brilliant century. In the 2012 Asia Cup, the guy who was becoming known as a run-chase master scored his first century in an ODI against Pakistan, one of his fiercest opponents. A aim of 330 was established for India by Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed in the centuries that followed. India was facing a difficult goal and trailed by one wicket in the opening over when Kohli came out to bat. Distracted by the challenge, Kohli went on to smash 183 off 148 balls, taking India to victory in front of a crowded Mirpur stadium in Bangladesh. His performance featured successive century stands with Tendulkar (52) and Rohit Sharma (68).
2014: Kohli rules T20 World Cup
Once more, Kohli caused problems for Pakistan by starting India’s T20 World Cup 2022 with one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of the competition. India was looking at a dire situation at 31-4 after 6.1 overs, needing to score 160 runs to win, when Kohli decided to take matters into his own hands. He had an almost unbelievable innings, hitting an undefeated 82 off 53 balls. India needed 31 runs with two overs remaining. Kohli startled Pakistan and everyone in attendance by hitting Haris Rauf for two massive sixes off the fourth and sixth balls of the last over.
