Virat Kohli would have liked to bat in the middle and score the winning runs in the Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia in Dubai on Tuesday. But he had already done his job well, so he got to celebrate the win back in the dressing room
.
India looked a bit shaky at 43 for 2 while chasing Australia’s total of 264, but they never seemed worried. This was because Kohli played a brilliant knock, scoring 84 runs off 98 balls. His steady batting stopped the Aussie attack and helped India win by four wickets to reach the final.
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A video shared by the BCCI showed Kohli watching the final moments of the game happily from a distance in the dressing room, while captain Rohit Sharma sat nervously in his chair. India was just one hit away from victory when Hardik Pandya, who had scored 28, got out, while KL Rahul stayed calm in the middle. As Ravindra Jadeja came down to join Rahul, Kohli looked at Rohit and said,
“Maarne to chhakka hi ja raha hai woh”
(which means “he is going to hit a six”).
Even though Kohli’s prediction turned out to be true, the winning six was hit by KL Rahul (42 not out) instead of Jadeja (2 not out).
Earlier in the match, when India was close to winning, Kohli tried to finish the game quickly but got out. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa caught him at long-on off the bowling of Ben Dwarshuis.
Shreyas Iyer’s contribution of 45 runs was also very important in India’s four-wicket win.
Before that, India’s bowling was led by Mohammed Shami, who took 3 wickets for 48 runs. Spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 49) and Ravindra Jadeja (2 for 40) each claimed two wickets.
India will face either South Africa or New Zealand in the final on March 9.
