Virat Kohli’s Top 4 Most Iconic T20I Innings

Explore exciting details behind the top four most iconic innings of Virat Kohli’s T20I career.

The run-machine of India, Virat Kohli appeared for his debut T20I match against Zimbabwe at Harare in June 2010 and played his last T20I against South Africa at Bridgetown in 2024. Shortly after India’s undefeated victory at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the T20 internationals format and made it clear that it was his last match against South Africa at the finals of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Virat Kohli was awarded with the most coveted “player of the match” award at the end of the game for his stellar 76* run innings which greatly assisted the Indian side to defeat South Africa and clinch the trophy for the second time after a long wait of seventeen years.

Although Virat Kohli, often hailed as “the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time)” chose to retire from the world’s most competitive and high-spirited cricket format, his legacy continues to come across as one of the most influential and significant pillars of the T20 international cricket arena.

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In this article we will take a look at Virat Kohli’s top four most iconic T20I knocks of all time.

Top 4 Most Iconic T20I Innings Of Virat Kohli

Top 4 Most Iconic T20I Innings Of Virat Kohli

  • India vs Pakistan : T20 World Cup 2012

In his illustrious T20I career of fourteen long years, Virat Kohli has always proved himself to be one of the deadliest nightmares for the Pakistan cricket team. India’s one of the biggest arch-rivals, Pakistan, faced Kohli’s fury at Colombo during the T20 World Cup match in 2012. Pakistan batted first and the bowlers of the Indian cricket team restricted the Pak Squad to an easily-achievable total of 128.

Although, technically, it wasn’t too difficult for the top batting lineup of the Indian cricket team to chase down a total of 128*runs, the slow pitch and weather conditions made it a challenging pitch to bat on.

As India lost its first crucial wicket of Gautam Gambhir right in the first over, Virat Kohli took command of the team at number 3 and brilliantly took the chase forward with tremendous and game-changing shots all across the field. Virat Kohli smashed a stellar innings of 78* runs off only 61 deliveries and led the men in the blue squad to an easy win against their arch rivals, Pakistan.

  • India vs South Africa : T20 World Cup 2014

Often hailed as one of the most reliable batsmen in the T20 internationals format, Virat Kohli has proved his potential over the years and has successfully led the Indian cricket team to a phenomenal streak of victories all along his T20I career.

India locked horns against one of the most formidable teams in the world, South Africa, in the semi-final of the 2014 T20 World Cup. Although the South African bowlers tried every bit to restrict the Indian cricket team from reaching their target of 172*runs, Virat Kohli kept his balance throughout the match, rotated strike whenever required and pulled off tremendous shots against South Africa.

Virat Kohli’s power-packed innings of 72*runs off just 44 deliveries drove India to a surprising win against South Africa and the king was also awarded with the “player of the match” award for his significant contribution.

  • India vs Sri Lanka : T20 World Cup 2014

Although India lost the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli won millions of hearts with his groundbreaking innings against Sri Lanka. While the legendary top-order batsmen of the Indian cricket team, including Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Ajinkya Rahane, were dismissed without making any significant contribution to the team, Kohli single-handedly led the Indian side to a total of 130* runs.

The “one-man-army” of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli, smashed a terrific total of 77*runs off just 58 deliveries and successfully led the men in the blue squad to a total of 130* runs. Although Kohli poured in an enormous amount of effort, Sri Lanka restricted India to a total of 130* runs and managed to defeat the Indian side within 17.5 overs.

  • India vs South Africa : T20 World Cup 2024

Virat Kohli served as a major pillar for India’s undefeated victory at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the second time after the inaugural 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup edition. Virat Kohli smashed a total of 76* runs off 59 deliveries and played a pivotal role in ending India’s seventeen-years-long wait for bringing the T20 World Cup trophy home.

Although Kohli’s retirement announcement shortly after the triumph made it a bittersweet moment for the fans of Indian cricket, Kohli called it a “perfect” conclusion to his remarkable T20I career that lasted for fourteen long years. In his last extremely successful T20I encounter against South Africa, Virat Kohli received his sixteenth “man of the match” award, which is the highest number for any cricketer in the T20 internationals format till date.

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