Reminiscing on his knock of 82 (not out) against Pakistan at ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), star India batter Virat Kohli said he would not forget the experience of singing the national anthem in front of packed stands at the iconic ground, adding that without the fans in the stands, his knock would not have had the significance it acquired by the end of the game.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports show 'Believe: The Diwali Miracle', Virat said, "It is amazing. Of all the games that I have been part of in World Cups or big stages with India-Pakistan, this is one thing I can never forget - singing the national anthem in front of so many people and people singing it with you. And I will tell you why, because for me that is the one thing, that all your supporters and you as a team and all your management and everyone involved on the day in that game do together."
"All the other stuff while it is batting, bowling or fielding is all happening separately, this is one moment where everyone's energy is streamlined into one thing and the power of that is very special. It is something to feel, it is not something you can quite put into words but that is why we get goosebumps and it is the energy that makes us feel like that. One gets very few opportunities to experience and feel the energy like that in a moment," he added.
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On his comeback from a break during the Asia Cup last year and the knock against Pakistan at T20 WC, Virat said that following an indifferent run of form, he was at peace with himself and did not feel any desperation.
"The fact that I came back to play the Asia Cup, and the sort of phase I was in, it was space filled with content and I did not have any desperation of any sort, so I did not feel any pressure like I did before. I was only happy that I was again participating in a huge occasion such as this. And I remembered a lot of things, there was Covid-19 in between because of which fans were missed in the stadium, and I felt a rush of emotions come to me before match day which made me realise how big of an opportunity or a blessing this is for everybody and not just for the players but also for the fans, as these memories can only be created in an atmosphere for it and this atmosphere is created by the players, by situations as in this match (referring to India vs Pakistan game at MCG) and most importantly with the fans being in the stadium. If that day there were not so many people there, I feel this knock would not have much of a significance because a game turns into something more than a game because of the energy fans bring to it," Kohli added.
Rewriting cricketing history, Virat equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record for most centuries in ODIs, after he brought up the 49th ton of his career in the World Cup clash with South Africa at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Outclassing the Proteas in all three aspects of the game, the hosts won the match by 243 runs. Virat is now just one century away from becoming the first player to smash 50 ODI centuries.
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Virat's century is also his 79th in international cricket. Virat has smashed 49 centuries in ODIs, 29 in Tests, and one in T20Is. Virat's record-equalling ton came at the same ground where he scored his first-ever international ton against Sri Lanka in 2009.
The star batter now has the second-highest number of centuries in international cricket, next to Sachin Tendulkar's 100 centuries. He also joined an elite company of batters who scored a century on their birthdays. These players include Sachin himself, Vinod Kambli, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, and Mitchell Marsh.
In the eight matches of the ongoing World Cup, Virat has scored 543 runs at an average of 108.40, with two centuries and four fifties.
