Diwali arrived a day early for Indian cricket fans, as India won their opening game against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup 2022 by four wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in what will go down as one of the greatest games ever played between the two arch rivals. The man who who stole the show for the Men in Blue was none other than Virat Kohli who scored a mammoth 82 runs, in what many people have called the best knock by an Indian in a T20 World Cup game. However, former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar disagrees.
Chasing 160 to win, India lost four wickets for just 31 runs. After that the legendary Virat Kohli put things back together as he stitched a record century partnership with Hardik Pandya. In the end of the innings, Kohli came into his own as he smashed the bowlers all over the park ending up with a score of 82 from 53 balls in an innings strudded with 6 fours and 4 sixes. Virat Kohli. after the game rated this as his best ever T20 innings, even ahead of his knock in the 2014 World Cup quarter final against Australia at Mohali.
However, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that neither the innings vs Pakistan nor that against Australia in the best ever innings by an Indian at the T20 World Cup. He rates Yuvraj Singh‘s 30- ball 70 against Australia in the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup in the no.1 position.
“The best I feel is Yuvraj Singh’s, he will be at No. 1 because it was a semi-final match, so it was a different level. The second, as Virat Kohli himself said in his post-match interview that he will rate the Melbourne innings higher, the sort of attack it was and the position we were in, difficult conditions, I feel Melbourne should be there,” Bangar said on a video posted on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube Channel.
Winning the toss, Australia, who were the favourites to win the tournament overall, put India to bat first. The innings did not get off to a good start for India as they lost both openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the first eight overs with just 41 runs on the board.It was then that Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa steadied the ship with an 81-run partnership. Yuvraj had just come off an incredible half-century vs England in the quarter-finals in the famous game where he hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. He continued his form in this game as well, as the left-hander smashed 70 runs from 30 balls in an innings studded with 5 fours and 5 sixes.
