Bangladesh fought hard against India in a 2022 T20 World Cup Super 12 match, but India ultimately won by five runs (DLS method). India set Bangladesh a 185-run goal as Virat Kohli (64*, 44b) reached his third half-century and KL Rahul (50, 32b) returned to form. Litton Das’ half-century off just 21 balls gave Bangladesh a strong start in the chase. After that, the game was called off due to rain, and Bangladesh’s revised aim was 151 runs in 16 overs. The team led by Shakib Al Hasan ultimately lost by five runs.
There was one instance where things almost got out of control. Kohli faced a short ball with the final ball of Hasan Mahmud’s 16th over, which he pulled. He instantly gave the square-leg umpire a signal regarding the height of the delivery. Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, ran over and confronted Kohli about his gesture toward the umpire. The two grinned and reverted to their original positions.
Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said Kohli should not have indicated anything to the umpires. “Shakib is telling him that ‘you bat, and let umpires do their job’. I think they are discussing, what we were talking about. If you are going to call something and are going to put pressure on the umpire…then of course, he is a big name. Virat Kohli is a big name. He is a massive name in cricket so umpire sometimes come under pressure,” Waqar Younis said on A Sports. In terms of his innings, Kohli surpassed Mahela Jayawardene, the previous captain of Sri Lanka, who had 1,016 runs to become the competition’s all-time leading scorer in the T20 World Cup. Jayawardene set the record after 31 innings, while Kohli passed him after just 23.
“As soon as I knew the World Cup was in Australia, I was grinning from ear to ear,” said Kohli, who clearly loves batting on the faster wickets. “I knew good cricketing shots would be the key. I knew the kind of experience and game awareness of having played in Australia will come in handy for the team.” In the Adelaide Oval, where the Indian population predominated, Kohli, who had previously scored two match-winning half-centuries at this World Cup, achieved his third fifty in 37 balls.