If one is inclined towards believing so, this was preordained, written in the stars. That Virat Kohli would ride away into the T20I sunset not just with the World Cup winner’s medal around his neck, but also with the Player of the Final honors. That, given Virat Kohli‘s sense of theatre and drama and stage and occasion, he would overturn a middling to poor tournament with the most impactful of performances when it mattered, that he would bow out in a blaze of glory, not without a whimper.
Virat Kohli retires from T20 internationals after winning World Cup title .Virat Kohli made the announcement after being named the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup final. India had just won their first World Cup since the ODI edition in 2011, which incidentally was Kohli’s first World Cup. He said it would take a while for the feeling to sink in.
Virat Kohli’s final innings of 76 runs leads India to World Cup win.
The romantics will be tempted to label Virat Kohli’s 76 in Saturday’s final against South Africa as one for the ages though truth to tell, this was an innings of three parts. The first was the trademark flourish, conspicuous by its absence in the last seven matches – fours off each of his first two deliveries, 14 off his first five.
From there, as three wickets fell in no time, Virat Kohli regressed from maestro to journeyman, going 35 deliveries with a boundary, needing 48 deliveries to reach his first half-century of the T20 World Cup. 50 in 48, on a good batting deck. What are you on to, Virat
I’ll show you what, he retorted. With a stunning six, out of the blue, against Kagiso Rabada. It was all Virat Kohli, wrist and bottom hand coming together in the most seamless of fashions, the ball taken from outside off and deposited over wide long-on with a disdain that sits quite nicely on him. A collective gasp, then a roof-threatening explosion of noise and energy. Oh, this Kohli, he can bat, can’t he
From 50 off 48 to 76 off 58 was an electric, electrifying journey – 26 in 10 balls, two fours, as many sixes. Rabada felt the sting, then the towering Marco Jansen, also the first target of Virat Kohli’s ire, in the first over of the final when he breezed to three fours. 76 off 58 wasn’t looking so shabby when Virat Kohli was caught in the deep going for another big hit in the penultimate over.
The dominate-rebuild-dominate essay done, Virat Kohli walked away to a standing ovation from his colleagues in the dugout and in the changing room. Little did anyone know at the time that it was the last time he would turn out in a Twenty20 International.
Virat Kohli on India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph
Following India’s triumph, Kohli shared a post on his official Instagram handle to share his excitement over the team ending their 11-year ICC trophy drought. He also expressed gratitude to God, writing:
“Couldn’t have dreamt of a better day than this. God is great and I bow my head in gratitude. We finally did it 🇮🇳❤️🇮🇳❤️jai hind ❤️❤️❤️.”
Virat Kohli’s batting form had come under the scanner following a string of poor performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, the seasoned campaigner turned things around, winning the Player of the Match award in the all-important final.
Virat Kohli announces retirement from T20Is after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win
Virat Kohli made a big announcement following India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory. Speaking at the post-match presentation of the final, he said it was his last appearance for Team India in T20Is.
The 35-year-old further mentioned that he would have retired even if India had lost the final. Suggesting that it was time for the youngsters to take India’s T20I team forward, Kohli said:
“This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can’t get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation. This was my last T20 game playing for India.”
“We wanted to lift that cup. This [his retirement from T20Is] was an open secret. Not something that I wasn’t going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that with 4188 runs from 117 innings, Virat Kohli is the second-highest run-getter in T20Is after Rohit Sharma (4,231).