‘Some spirit went inside him that day’ - Ravichandran Ashwin recalls Virat Kohli’s jaw-dropping knock against Pakistan

A 90,000-plus crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground witnessed one of the greatest chases in T20Is of all time as team India defeated Pakistan in a Super 12 clash of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday, October 23. India were struggling at one stage, however, they had Virat Kohli who along with Hardik Pandya put up a 113-run partnership and took the game away from the arch-rivals.

Kohli started off slowly as he took time to get accustomed to the pitch. However, the former India skipper got into his zone and played a captivating knock of 82* runs off just 53 balls to help India excel in the run chase.

Ravichandran Ashwin recalls terrific innings by Virat Kohli

Ravichandran Ashwin joined Kohli when the equation came down to two needed off one ball and the match was evenly poised. A calm Ashwin played a lofted shot over the mid-off fielder to hand India the win but it was Kohli’s innings that brought the team to a winning position.

"I really think some spirit went inside him that day. Leave all the shots he played, after the first 45 deliveries he faced, he was so charged up. We all saw the Ganga that transformed into Chandramukhi," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"Virat Kohli, with his intense eyes, gave me a couple of ideas as to where to hit the final delivery. I told myself ‘You can hit them like that. I will try to do what I can'. As I walked into bat, I cursed Dinesh Karthik for a second and then later thought, no no, it's time to reset. We still have time, let us do what we were here for," Ashwin added.

India now play the Netherlands in a match that could strengthen their case for a semi-final spot. Meanwhile, India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has made it clear that India won't rest any key player ahead of the clash.