NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli has long since moved on from India’s humiliating 10-wicket loss to arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. On that fateful day, Kohli conceded that Pakistan had completely outplayed India, securing their first win in a World Cup match (both ODI World Cup and T20I World Cup).

India were called into bat after Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field.
Pakistan’s star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi wreaked havoc in his opening two overs, dismissing Rohit Sharma for a duck and KL Rahul for just 3 runs, giving Pakistan a strong start.
Virat, then the captain of the Indian side, fought a lone battle and scored 57 off 49 balls, including 5 boundaries and 1 six. Apart from Virat, Rishabh Pant made 39 runs in 30 balls to help India post a fighting total.
India managed to score 151 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs in Dubai.

In response, Pakistan’s opening batsmen Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam dominated the Indian bowlers from the start and guided the Green Shirts to a resounding victory in just 17.5 overs to secure their first World Cup victory over India.
“Defeat against Pakistan in 2021 never crossed my mind (in 2022). Due to the huge factor of human error in sports, there is no guarantee that you will win on that day,” Virat told Star Sports.
“We’ve been winning against Pakistan all these years but they outclassed us that day. There’s no shame in accepting that. It was a good reality check for everyone. We can’t play the match thinking we have to avenge a past defeat,” he added.

A year later, at the 2022 T20 World Cup, Virat avenged the 2021 defeat in style. He played a memorable knock of 82 not out from 53 balls to hand India a thrilling four-wicket haul at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Virat smashed consecutive sixes off Rauf’s bowling to secure victory from the jaws of defeat. Virat’s spectacular knock is still widely celebrated as an iconic moment in the game of cricket.

On Sunday, Virat added another feather to his illustrious cap when he brought up his 49th ODI century during ICC ODI World Cup match against South Africa. With this century, Kohli equaled Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries with a brilliant 101 not out against South Africa on his 35th birthday.
The century against South Africa was Kohli’s second of the tournament and fourth overall in all 50-over World Cups. The 35-year-old has a total of 543 runs in this edition of the World Cup at an impressive average of 108.60.