There is no denying that Indian superstar Virat Kohli’s splendid back-foot-six against Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf at the packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will be remembered as one of the best shots in the history of T20 World Cups.
Kohli’s stunning straight hit propelled India to a four-wicket victory in a nail-biting thriller, and the cricketing world hasn’t stopped talking about it since.
Speaking about Kohli’s jaw-dropping hit in a crunch situation, Australian great Ricky Ponting reckoned that the shot would be remembered forever by the cricket fraternity.
“I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s going to go down as one of the most remembered and talked about shots probably in – I won’t say white-ball cricket history – but certainly T20 World Cup history,” said Ponting, as quoted by ICC.
Notably, the equation for India to win the contest was nearly impossible as they needed 28 from eight balls. But Kohli did the unthinkable and slammed a stunning blow of 84 metres, followed by another eye-catching shot that went for a maximum, leaving India to win 16 in the final over, which the Men in Blue accomplished successfully.
Ponting decoded Kohli’s abilities to pull off the breathtaking shot, stating the former India skipper used his core to connect the hit, which shows his unbelievable fitness and that no other player can match such strength.
“All that strength came through his core. You’ve got a steady base, and the power to create and play that shot from there, comes through your core. We’ve seen him with his cricket gear off, he’s pretty fit. There’s a lot of other players that just wouldn’t have been strong enough through their core to do something like that, but he’s one of the guys that can,” added Ponting.
