What sets apart Virat Kohli as one of the all-time greats is his ability to minimise unforced errors. His batting skills in ODI cricket are second to none. And when in a chase, Kohli’s efficiency is further amplified. All that was on show in Dubai on Tuesday.
Kohli played yet another match-defining innings of 84 (off 98 balls) as India outsmarted Australia by four wickets in the first semi-final of this Champions Trophy.
When Kohli departed, India needed 40 runs off 46 balls to reach the 265-run target. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya muscled their way forward, reaching home with 11 balls remaining.
Kohli was dropped on 51 by Glenn Maxwell. That shot off Adam Zampa was the only glitch in Kohli’s masterpiece on a tricky Dubai pitch before his attempt to clear long-on
off the same bowler cost him his wicket.
With India losing captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill with only 43 on the board, Kohli, along with Shreyas Iyer, concentrated on strike rotation. It kept the scoreboard ticking as their 91-run third-wicket partnership formed the backbone of the chase.
The Australia bowling attack was depleted and inexperienced, and consistent strike rotation from the two helped India sustain pressure on their opponents. Even after Shreyas’ dismissal, Kohli followed the same pattern with Axar Patel and Rahul to ensure the required run rate was never a problem for India.
Hitting only five boundaries, Kohli showed the job could be done by nudging the ball around for ones and twos as well. Australia skipper Steve Smith’s field placings could have been a little more attacking, though.
Batting-wise, Smith (73) too played a smart innings. But his dismissal off a Mohammed Shami full toss must have disappointed the Australia skipper after all the hard work he had done against the Indian spinners.
Besides, at that stage of the game, with Australia still two short of 200, the selection of such a shot was not right from Smith. In such a situation, Kohli would probably not have risked that kind of a stroke.
In other words, the quick dismissals of Smith and Glenn Maxwell in consecutive overs denied Australia a total close to 300, which could have
tested India even more on that Dubai pitch.
But it was not Australia’s day. Unlike the 2023 World Cup final, this time India were alert. This win would help heal most of the scars from that wound. One more win and India will have happy memories hide them permanently.