“That was the best innings I have ever seen,” Shaheen Afridi said of Virat Kohli’s MCG performance

The legend, Virat Kohli, announced his retirement from Twenty20 international cricket after winning the Twenty24 T20 World Cup in June of that year. The top hitter faced criticism towards the conclusion of his Twenty20 International career due to his low strike rate in the format. However, the star batter’s knock against Pakistan at the MCG in 2022 during the T20 World Cup match will always be remembered as the highlight of his shortest-format career.

India was four down with 31 runs scored at the end of the powerplay when Kohli entered the fray and the team had little hope of winning. An undefeated 82 off 53 was masterfully arranged by Kohli, and his down-the-ground six against Haris Rauf is still spoken about. Former Pakistani player Shaheen Afridi declared Virat’s inning to be his finest ever.

“Virat Kohli is a fantastic athlete. A great player like Kohli may also play these kinds of innings. Haris Rauf blasted a six on a straight down the ground, which was a tremendous shot and his greatest ball to date. I have never seen a finer innings in my career than Virat Kohli’s 82* runs, Shaheen Afridi declared on Star Sports.

You feel like you can’t run one day, and then things happen: Virat Kohli

The 35-year-old played the game-winning innings in the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa in Barbados, capping up his T20I career. India’s top-order collapsed, losing three wickets in as many balls. After starting the batting, Kohli lasted until the 19th over and amassed a strong 76 runs off 59 deliveries. It is noteworthy that the right-handed batter had only scored 73 runs in 7 innings prior to the championship game.

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“We aimed to accomplish this during my final t20 World Cup. You feel like you can’t run one day, and then things happen. After the game, Kohli remarked, “God is great, and I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered.”