‘Can never forget singing national anthem in front of so many people’ – Virat Kohli relives historic India-Pakistan 2022 T20 World Cup clash

Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the ODI World Cup 2023, celebrates 10 years with a series of exclusive ‘Believe’ films; starting with ‘Believe: The Diwali Miracle’- a two-part interview of Virat Kohli, which reflects on the Kohli's legendary T20 innings in the 2022 T20 World Cup against Pakistan. 

This innings secured a miraculous victory on the eve of Diwali, last year. Kohli watches the match in full for the first time with Jatin Sapru, candidly discussing the anticipation, moments of despair, and the creation of this remarkable miracle. The interview delves deep into Kohli's mindset, expectations, cherished memories, and emotions, revealing the intricacies of his mastery on the grandest stage.

Kohli shared his thoughts on fans playing a crucial role in winning that iconic match.

“The fact that I came back to play the Asia cup, and the sort of phase I was in, it was space filled with content and I didn’t have any desperation of any sort, so I didn’t feel any pressure like I did before. I was only happy that I was again participating on a huge occasion such as this. 

"And I remembered a lot of things, there was Covid in between because of which fans were missed in the stadium, and I felt rush of emotions come to me before match day which made me realise how big of an opportunity or a blessing this is for everybody and not just for the players but also for the fans, as these memories can only be created in an atmosphere for it and this atmosphere is created by the players, by situations as in this match (referring to India vs Pakistan game at MCG) and most importantly with the fans being in the stadium. If that day there weren’t so many people there, I feel this knock would not have much a significance because a game turns into something more than a game because of the energy fans bring to it.”

Kohli also spoke on experiencing the feeling of the nation’s anthem in a packed stadium.

“It’s amazing. Of all the games that I have been part of in World cups or big stages with India-Pakistan, this is one thing I can never forget - singing the national anthem in front of so many people and people singing it with you. And I’ll tell you why, because for me that is the one thing, that all your supporters and you as a team and all your management and everyone involved on the day in that game do together.

"All the other stuff while it is batting, bowling or fielding it’s all happening separately, this is one moment where everyone’s energy is streamlined into one thing and the power of that is very special. It’s something to feel, it’s not something you can quite put into words but that’s why we get goose bumps and it’s the energy which makes us feel like that. One gets very few opportunities as to experience and feel the energy like that in a moment," he added.

Watch 'BELIEVE: The Diwali Miracle' show (Part 1):