Team India’s star batsman Virat Kohli said that he never thought that he would be able to score 183 in ODIs, which he scored against Pakistan in Mirpur during the 2012 Asia Cup. Reflecting on this innings, Kohli said that he was in a different zone that day. India’s number 3 batsman scored 183 off 148 balls in match number five of the Asia Cup 2012. Batting first, Pakistan put up an impressive 329/6 on the board as openers Mohammad Hafeez (105 from 113 balls) and Nasir Jamshed (112 from 104 balls) got on the board. Scored a great century.
However, the Men in Blue chased down the target with ease as Kohli hit 22 fours and a six. India lost the wicket of Gautam Gambhir for a duck, but Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar (52 off 48 balls) added 133 runs for the second wicket. After this, Kohli and Rohit Sharma (68 off 83) shared a 172-run partnership for the third wicket to put India in a strong position.
Reminiscing about the special innings, Kohli said on the show ‘Follow the Blues’ on Star Sports that he didn’t plan anything special and was just playing with ease. He said:
“I had never thought that I would score so many runs in an innings and that too while chasing – 183. That day I was in a different zone naturally. I had not planned anything and was just playing instinctively. As the match progressed, my zone became stronger.
Kohli Commented:
“Later on, I realized that maybe I surprised myself a little bit. I felt like I can score hundreds, but to score 180 was a big thing for me, especially against a side like Pakistan with so much on the line on that game,”
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Virat Kohli’s special innings came to an end early in the 48th over when he fell to Umar Gul, with India at 318/4. After this Suresh Raina (12* off 6) and MS Dhoni (4*) took the Blue team across the finish line with 13 balls to spare.
“India-Pakistan was a big game for me” – Virat Kohli
Elaborating on why he attaches so much importance to his 183-run innings, Virat Kohli explained that, as a youngster, he is not much aware of the kind of hype around an India-Pakistan cricket match. They said:
“The most satisfying [knock] I would say was 183 because it was an Asia Cup match and India-Pakistan was a big game for me. I had not played too many India-Pakistan matches before that. At that time, I did not have that much idea about the build-up to the match.
He Added:
“Now, we take it in a normal way, but at that time so much excitement was created. The match was viewed in such a way that as a youngster you feel the atmosphere is something different,”
Virat Kohli will once again be up against Pakistan when India takes on arch-rivals in the Asia Cup 2023 at Pallekele on September 2.
