27 March, 2016: When Australia were beaten by one cricketing genius, Virat Kohli!

Okay! Tell me what is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone reminisces about the year 1998? Is it the sight of Sachin Tendulkar shellacking the Aussies to the tune of Brobdingnagian hundreds with Tony Grieg going crazy in the commentary box? Well! That was, as they say, God’s year! For the fans who grew up watching cricket in the 1990s, the year 1998 epitomized the zenith of batsmanship by the Master Blaster. It was a benchmark that no one thought would ever be surpassed.

Eighteen years later, the fans of the modern era, who grew up listening to the stories of how Tendulkar was nearly invincible in the aforementioned year, and how that benchmark could never be surpassed, got their very own 1998 moment, courtesy a maverick, a genius, a run-machine, a juggernaut masquerading as a batsman in the form of Virat Kohli.

And, it was on this very day- March 27th- that Virat Kohli played probably one of the best innings of his celebrated career- much like what Tendulkar had done in April of 1998 in what came to be famously known as the ‘Sandstorm blitz’. Of-course, it had to come against Australia.

27 March 2016: India vs Australia [or Rather Virat Kohli vs Australia]

India was up against it. After having lost their opening game to New Zealand, every game that the Men in Blue played thereafter, was a virtual knockout for them. They had to get past Australia in order to qualify for the semi-finals. The stage was set for a high-voltage clash. Australia batted first, and despite a brisk start by Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch could only manage 6-160 after 20 overs.

The target may have looked modest but it was also a reflection of the slow and sluggish nature of the pitch. Indian batsmen had a task cut out for them. Barring Virat, none of the Indian batters had fired in the competition thus far, and when the same trend began to emerge in their run-chase, the responsibility of taking India past the finishing line, once again fell on Virat Kohli’s shoulders.

And, as they say, adversity tends to bring out a beast in champions. Australia had experienced it first hand on numerous occasions at the hands of Sachin Tendulkar and also of Virat Kohli. And, to their utter dismay, they were to experience it once again. 

A run-chase timed to perfection

One of the greatest qualities of Virat Kohli is, he knows how to maneuver his run-chase; he knows which bowlers to target. It’s as if he has a calculator ticking in his mind, which tells him exactly when to accelerate and when to restrain. And, he does that not only by playing sumptuous strokes but also by running as a man possessed.

After Yuvraj Singh was dismissed for an 18-ball 21, India’s chase seemed to be stuttering. But, Kohli was always poised to prick the balloon- and he did that with perfection. With 47 runs needed in the last five overs, he decided it was the time to launch. In the 16th over, the master of the chases skipped out to a slower delivery by Josh Hazlewood and swatted it past wide mid-on for a boundary.

The next ball was fullish in length and Kohli creamed it past cover and ran like a megalomaniac for a couple. This was precise targeting of the bowler, made possible by audacious timing and brisk running between the wickets.

Kohli faced just the one delivery of the 17th over bowled by Shane Watson, who conceded just eight runs from the over. With 39 needed off the last 18 balls, James Faulkner was called into the attack and given the history between these two, we knew something had to give. First ball- Kohli swatted it past square-leg; Four! Next delivery, the Master pierced the gap at backward point for another boundary.

When Virat Kohli sunk to his knees to let out his emotions

To the next delivery, Virat Kohli advanced down the track and creamed Faulkner for a six over long-off. 19 came off Faulkner’s over. The required-rate was coming down; Australia was feeling the heat and Kohli knew pretty well how to rub it in even more. The next over was bowled by Nathan Coulter-Nile against whom Kohli displayed his range of strokes by creaming him for three back-to-back boundaries.

India needed eight off eight balls, and he ensured that there were no final over jitters as he nailed another cover-drive to make it 16 for the over. MS Dhoni eventually finished off the game on the first ball of the last over, post which Kohli sank to his knees and released all his pant up emotions that had accumulated over the course of the innings, much like what Yuvraj had done in Ahmedabad after nailing Brett Lee for a match-winning boundary in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinals.

And, Glenn Maxwell summed it up beautifully in the end when he said, “Beaten by one genius.” For the fans of the 1990s, it was the perfect throwback to Mark Taylor’s statement made after his Australian team was beaten in 1998 Test series in India: “We were beaten by one man- Sachin Tendulkar.” 18 years later, the face of the genius had changed, but the result- to the delight of all Indian fans- was the same.