An Indian win in the final may be the perfect gift to Virat Kohli as he stands at the twilight of his World Cup career.
Bridgetown, Barbados – April Fool’s Day had come and gone. On April 2, 2011, a young and chubby star of Indian cricket uttered his most famous words on a glorious night for his country.
The then 22-year-old Virat Kohli carried the country’s most famous cricketing son – Sachin Tendulkar – on his shoulders after India won its second Cricket World Cup title and as the players took in the thunderous applause in a lap of honour at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“Sachin Tendulkar has carried Indian cricket on his shoulders for 21 years,” said Kohli. “So, it was fitting that we carried him on our shoulders after this win.”
Of all the words uttered by Kohli – and there have been many – these have lingered on over his 15-year career.
It was a declaration by India’s new hero in veneration of his predecessor.
No one has come close to reaching the deified air of the “Little Master” other than the man now known as “King Kohli”. And maybe no one ever will.
But such reverence comes with expectation. And after more than a decade of astounding feats in both 50-over and T20 World Cups, Kohli finds himself in unfamiliar territory.
India are in the final of a World Cup and their superstar darling is short of runs. Have India been carrying Kohli through this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, all the way through to the final?
He has scored just 75 runs in seven innings, including two ducks, and has been overshadowed by every other member of India’s top-order batters.
It’s a far cry from his feats in other World Cups in the past decade, in which India have failed to climb the summer despite Kohli’s individual heroics dragging them to the knockouts.
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