India missed the chase master Virat Kohli in T20 World Cup 2026? Check details
The Indian cricket team is currently involved in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The men-in-blue easily qualified for the Super 8s, remaining unbeaten in the group stage. They defeated the United States of America, Namibia, the Netherlands, and archrival Pakistan. However, the performance of the Indian team was not very good, and India had to struggle a lot to win even against associate teams. Although India defeated Pakistan by a huge margin of 61 runs, the team did not show an A+ performance in this match either. India batted first in all the matches, and the team won on the strength of their bowling.
Literally, every Indian cricket fan was feeling that the Indian team might choke against South Africa due to the team’s current performance, and the fear became true during the match.
During the match, South Africa opted to bat after winning the toss. It was after a long time in the history of the Cricket World Cup that the Indian team was going to chase a target without Virat Kohli. South Africa posted a mammoth 187 runs on the scoreboard. In response, the Indian team was bowled out on just 111 runs. When the Indian team was struggling during the chase, every Indian cricket fan was remembering the greatest chase master of white-ball cricket—Virat Kohli.
Once, former England captain Nasser Hussain famously praised Virat Kohli as the ultimate chase master, stating,
"In run chases, in the history of the game, there is Virat Kohli, there is daylight, and then there is the rest."
Thanks to Virat Kohli, India won countless matches. India has only three successful 160+ chases in T20 World Cup history, and Kohli led them all.
India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 finals (Barbados)
Today, if India is called the T20 World Champions, thanks to Virat Kohli. Just think, if he failed in the previous edition finals, then what happened? Just remember the T20 World Cup 2024 finals, where India came under pressure after losing 3 quick wickets in just 34 runs in 4.3 overs, he scored 76 runs. Just with his presence in the field, other batters played their natural game and took India's total to 176/7. Virat Kohli was underconfident before the match because he had consecutive failures in the rest of the matches in that World Cup. In 7 matches, he scored only 75 runs, but he saved his best for the finals. India won that match by 7 runs and lifted the World Cup after 13 years.
India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022 (MCG)
And this was not the first time Virat Kohli did this. Before the finals, just 2 years ago, the cricket world witnessed his epic chase against the arch-rivals Pakistan. On October 23, 2022 (A day before the diwali), Virat Kohli made the biggest chase of his career in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, against Pakistan, where Virat truly saved India's honour. In the last encounter, when India and Pakistan met in the World Cup, Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets, and Virat was the captain. For this match’s defeat and India’s early exit from the group stage, Virat Kohli was sacked from the captaincy. Everyone criticised him brutally after that World Cup. However, he didn't let down his team and the nation's pride and accept the management's decision.
During the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022 match, India lost their first 4 wickets in just 30 runs in 6 overs while chasing 160. We can say, at that time, Pakistan’s bowlers were at their peak. Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Iftikhar Ahmed. From here, Virat Kohli put up a 114-run partnership with Hardik Pandya. He took calculated risks, and once he was set in the crease, he played his natural game. Many Pakistani cricketers and experts believe that Pakistan was winning the match in most of the phases, but Virat stole the match from their throats. During the match, India’s winning chances were just 3.1%, but Virat did a miracle that day. After winning the match, skipper Rohit Sharma was carrying Virat on his shoulders. Virat remained unbeaten at the end and amassed 82 runs.
India vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2016 (Mohali)
The same situation happened in the 2016 T20 World Cup against Australia. In this match, the Indian team lost 3 wickets for 49 runs in 7.4 overs, chasing 161. No Indian batter was able to stand and face the Aussies' bowling attack properly, but Virat had a different plan. He scored 82 runs in 51 balls and remained unbeaten till the end. Thanks to him, India finished the match in 19.1 overs, with 6 wickets in hand.
Virat Kohli: The chase master
Virat Kohli has scored 2,013 runs in T20 Internationals while batting second, including 20 half-centuries. He remained unbeaten on 18 occasions, and India has not lost a single match in those games.
Today, he has retired from T20Is and Tests, and his absence is already beginning to be felt. India may find good and talented cricketers in the future, but whenever the Indian team was struggling in run chases, especially in World Cups, everyone will remember the greatest chase master of all time, Virat Kohli, and truly finding a player like him is almost impossible.
