Star batter Virat Kohli once again displayed why he is rated so highly in white-ball cricket, more so in big-ticket tournaments, and as the master of run-chases, with his gritty half century helping India beat Australia by four wickets in the high-pressure semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday.

The hallmark of his innings was the amount of singles and twos that he accumulated during the 98-ball knock with only 20 of those 84 runs coming in the form of five boundaries. The other highlight of that innings was the way Kohli maturely anchored the chase, by forging partnerships with the rest of the middle order to set the tone for the likes of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul to finish off in style for India.

Advertisement

The 36-year-old walked into the middle by the fifth over of India’s innings with the scoreboard ticking 30/1 and went on to set the platform with a 91-run partnership for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer, followed by a 44-run fourth wicket stand with Axar Patel, and another 47-run stand for the fifth wicket with KL Rahul, to further dent Australia’s hopes.

In the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy, Kohli copped criticism from all quarters for lack of runs, even as his much-awaited return to domestic cricket, made mandatory by the BCCI in the aftermath of the dismal tour Down Under, also did not yield the desired results.

However, after touching down Dubai for the Champions Trophy, Kohli once again displayed his worth with a match-winning century against Pakistan, before silencing Australia with his gritty half century in the crunch semifinal.

After Australia set India a target of 265 for victory on a tricky Dubai deck, Kohli stepped up to anchor their batting innings. There have been question marks over his strike rate but Kohli went on with the set template to build the innings, and focussed on building partnerships rather than going for the glory shots.

“I was not feeling desperate, and I was pretty happy knocking ones around,” he said after India sealed the win.

“And when, as a batter, you start taking pride in hitting those singles into the gaps, that is when you know you are playing good cricket and know you are in for a big partnership. It settles down the nerves. That was the most pleasing factor for me today.”

The Dubai wicket has proved difficult for batters right throughout the Champions Trophy, prompting teams to deploy spin-heavy lineups and name only a couple of recognised quicks.

India’s spinners answered the call yet again, allowing them to maintain the lion’s share of control in the match and sustain pressure on Australia’s hitters in the first innings.

Restricting the Aussies to 264 all out in the final over worked perfectly into India’s hands, as Kohli stepped up to play the foundational role his team needed.

“For me it is about understanding the conditions, preparing my game accordingly, rotating strike,” he continued.

“Big partnerships on this pitch are the most important thing and my effort today was to string enough partnerships [together]. The pitch tells me how the cricket needs to be played and then I just switch on and play accordingly.”

“This game is all about pressure, especially the semis and finals. When you go deep into the innings with enough wickets in hand, the opposition usually gives in, and the game becomes easier.”

While Kohli was unable to reach a record-extending 52nd ODI century, he was quick to dismiss that as something that had fuelled him out in the middle.

“I am never focused on those things [milestones],” he said.

“When you do not think of those milestones, they happen along the way towards victory. For me, it is all about taking pride and doing the job for the team and if I get to the three-figure mark then great. If not, nights like these, you win, it is a happy dressing room, and you feel grateful for what happened out there [on the pitch]. Then you put your head down, work hard, and go all over again,” the star batter added.