Managing his thoughts! 'Even Virat Kohli was thinking ... ': Rohit Sharma on Kohli's mental strength
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (ICC Photo)
NEW DELHI: A year after lifting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup trophy in Barbados,
Rohit Sharma
walked down memory lane, reliving one of the most defining moments of India's historic win over South Africa —
Virat Kohli
's gritty half-century and his game-changing partnership with Axar Patel.
'If you hit three boundaries in the first over, then obviously, you've started off well,' Rohit said, reflecting on the high-pressure start to the final. 'And that's exactly what every cricketer wants—it helps settle the nerves.'
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
For Rohit, Kohli's poise under pressure wasn't just about his shot-making, but a reflection of his years of experience playing for India.
'The experience of playing for India over so many years also helps in those moments.
You learn to control your emotions, manage your thoughts, and stay in the present. I'm sure even he (Virat) was thinking, 'Today is the day—I need to stay focused and not worry about what happened in the past.''
Kohli rose to the occasion when it mattered most—anchoring India's innings with a match-defining 76 and putting together a crucial partnership with Axar Patel after India lost three quick wickets.
'When we lost those three wickets up front, there were definitely nerves inside the dressing room.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Thị trường có dấu hiệu suy thoái không?
IC Markets
Đăng ký
Undo
I was panicking—I wasn't comfortable,' Rohit admitted.
India's Day 2 at the Nets in Edgbaston | IND vs ENG Test Series
'I remember thinking, 'We've let them into the game.' But in the back of my mind, I always had belief in our lower middle order—positions 5, 6, 7, and 8. They hadn't batted much in the tournament, but whenever they got the opportunity, they made it count.'
Rohit reserved special praise for Axar Patel, whose 47 off 31 balls was instrumental in tilting the momentum. 'Not many people are talking about Axar's knock, but that innings was a real game-changer,' he said.
'To score 47 off 31 balls at that stage was incredibly crucial.'
The Indian captain lauded Kohli for playing the anchor role to perfection, allowing the rest of the batting lineup to play freely.
Arshdeep vs Morkel: WWE at the Nets! | Team India's Lighter Moment in Birmingham
'We needed someone to bat through the innings, and Virat did that job perfectly. It was really important for someone to anchor the innings, and he did it brilliantly. That allowed Shivam, Axar, and Hardik to come in and play their roles with freedom—and that's exactly what they did.'
In what was a perfect farewell from T20 internationals for both Rohit and Kohli, the final at Kensington Oval became a lasting memory of composure, experience, and team effort—and at the heart of it stood Virat Kohli, delivering when India needed him most.
Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ayush Shetty stuns Yang to claim first BWF title, ends India's title wait, 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma shines with runner-up finish
Ayush Shetty clinched his first BWF World Tour title at the US Open Super 300, defeating Brian Yang in straight games and ending India's title drought this season. The 20-year-old Indian shuttler won 21-18, 21-13 in 47 minutes. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Final showdown: Shetty vs Yang Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tanvi Sharma finishes runner-up in women's final Ayush Shetty won his maiden BWF World Tour title on Sunday after defeating Canada's Brian Yang in straight games in the men's singles final of the US Open Super 300. The 20-year-old Indian shuttler won 21-18, 21-13 in 47 minutes, ending India's title drought on the BWF World Tour this a bronze medallist at the 2023 junior world championships, had earlier upset top seed Chou Tien Chen in the semifinals. He had also beaten Yang twice earlier this year, at the Malaysia and Taipei match started with both players locked at 6-6 before Shetty pulled away with a series of winners to lead 11-6 at the break. Yang fought back to level at 16-16, but Shetty regained control and took the first game with a jump the second game, Shetty raced to a 7-2 lead. Yang closed the gap briefly, but Shetty maintained the upper hand with solid defence and precise variations. Leading 17-12, he wrapped up the match with a cross-court punch and a powerful had earlier finished runner-up at the 2023 Odisha Masters Super 100, 2023 Bahrain International, and 2024 Dutch the women's singles final, 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma lost to top seed Beiwen Zhang of the United States in three games. Playing her first World Tour final, Sharma went down 11-21, 21-16, 10-21 in 46 took control early in the opening game, leading 11-5 and closing it without much resistance. Sharma bounced back in the second game with an aggressive start, taking a 4-0 lead and holding off Zhang's rallies to take the Zhang dominated the decider, moving to an 11-4 advantage at the interval and closing out the match to win the title.
Indian Express
37 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Five players who can make an impact at Edgbaston
IND vs ENG: India will take on England in the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday. The visitors have lost the first Test in Leeds and will look to level the series. The conditions at this venue will be different from what has been witnessed at Leeds. The Indian Express looks at the five players who need to make an impact to improve their side's chances of winning the game. The young Mumbai opener, since making his debut in the West Indies in 2023, has risen rapidly and become one of the key components in the Indian batting order. Once again it is the responsibility is on his shoulders to see off the shine of the new ball intially and also to provide that sucker punch from time to time unsettling the lines and lenghts of the England bowlers. While T20 has not been Pant's strongest suit, as soon as the ball's colour turns red, Pant unleashes the potential he is known for. The vice-captain of the side on his third England tour is amongst the senior batters in the side, and the unpredictability in his innings construction can put off any bowling attack, as England found out in Leeds when the left-hander scored two centuries in two innings. With Jasprit Bumrah likely to miss out on the game, as reported by this paper earlier, Siraj becomes the spearhead of the attack. Although he did have a poor game in the first Test on his day, he can run through the opposition when he has something to work with on the pitch and finds his rhythm. For Indian bowling to do well, Siraj has to bowl well. The English talisman has scored 920 runs at the venue at an average of 70.71. He is the top scorer on this ground. Although he missed out in the first innings at Headingly on a flat deck, he did score a timely half-century to help England get over the line, supporting Ben Duckett's ton. With Bumrah likely to miss out on the game, India needs to come up with a method to keep Root quiet on a ground where he has a habit of churning runs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It might have been a while since Archer has played a game in red-ball, but he still can be quite lethal when he gets it right, and like Bumrah, can make things happen when there is not much help. However, he will be able to adjust to the rhythms of bowling 20 overs a day and keep the pace up through all his spells can only be known once he steps onto the field.
Indian Express
42 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Thunderstorms and scorching heat wave threaten next year's FIFA World Cup in the US
Only five minutes and stoppage time remained when the Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic hurriedly signalled the match to stop. To the petrified Chelsea and Benfica players, locked in an intensely scruffy round-of-16 game, he pointed his index finger and head skywards, where dark and sombre clouds were rolling in over the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The players, especially those of Chelsea, leading 1-0, protested. They were used to rain and snow, sun and storm in EPL's ten-month grind. The referee wouldn't budge, as there was a high-grade thunderstorm brewing in the horizon, and the players reluctantly retreated to the dressing room. The screen inside the ground blinked with the message: 'Seek cover protocol. Severe weather in the area. Seek cover.' The storm passed, half of the spectators spilled out, and the players returned. By then, 113 minutes had ticked by. When the game ended, a red card, extra time and feverish goal celebrations stretching the time, the players, referees, officials and some of the spectators had spent four hours and 38 minutes on the ground. When the final whistle blew, Chelsea winning 4-1, the London club's manager Enzo Maresca stormed off the pitch, his troops staggering behind him. He vented out all his rage in the press conference room. 'Guys, it's not football. You suspend the game, it's not football. It's completely something different,' he said, fuming. 'It's not normal to suspend a game. In a World Cup, how many games are suspended? Zero, probably. In Europe, how many games? Zero,' he raged on, before detailing the practical difficulties of sitting through a two-hour break, waiting for the game to resume, when all it required were five and sundry minutes to wrap up the game. Worryingly, it was not the first game a thunderstorm had interrupted nor the longest a team had to wait for restart. It was the sixth match in the tournament and the longest weather delay came during Benfica's 6-0 rout of Auckland City in Orlando when the game was suspended for two hours. Worse, intermittent thunderstorms are frequent in these neck of woods in June and July and could be a recurring feature in next year's FIFA World Cup. Last year, weather wreaked havoc in the T20 World Cup, in June-July, when a hurricane blew in Florida and washed off the games. US-based meteorologists fear harsh weather to prevail in next year's expanded World Cup. Ben Schott, a member of the National Weather Service who advises FIFA and the 2026 World Cup team, told AFP recently: 'What we're seeing right now is not unusual, even though we're setting records. Most of the eastern United States is breaking records, and that happens almost every summer. So something similar is expected next year, and those planning to attend the matches should be prepared.' Though thunderstorms have not resulted in fatalities yet, a teenager miraculously survived one near the MetLife Stadium in New York, which would host the World Cup final, last week. Only four of the World Cup Stadiums have retractable roofs, making the players and audience hostage to extreme weather conditions. A bigger worry is the scorching heatwave. One of the most enduring and unusual images of the Club World Cup has been that of the Borussia Dortmund bench watching the first half of their match against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns from inside the locker room. The temperature that afternoon had touched 36 degree Celsius (with a real feel of 39). 'Our subs watched the first half from inside the locker room to avoid the blazing sun — never seen that before, but in this heat, it absolutely makes sense,' the club's official handle posted on Twitter. The players and managers too are feeling the heat, not to discount spectators and referees. Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso was spotted with an ice towel on his neck during the 1 pm practice session at their training base in Miami. Real Madrid trained in heated tents. Heat lamps were placed inside so that the players got used to the sweltering rays of the sun. Even players raised in the US can't help cursing the heat. 'I only played a half, and it was like I was dying out there. It was really hot,' said Juventus and USA forward Timothy Weah. PSG's Brazilian said he could neither step up nor slow down because he couldn't process what was going on. At last year's Copa América in the US, an assistant referee collapsed during a match played in the stifling heat of Kansas City. Kick off timings have not helped. As many as 15 games started at 12 pm; 16 at 3 pm. Only 15 games were scheduled after 7 pm, when it is much cooler. Alarmingly, noon and afternoon starts could be the norm in the World Cup too, to suit the prime television time in Europe. It was the story of the 1994 World Cup, the last time the country hosted the tournament. The final, between Italy and Brazil at Pasadena, in California, was played in 38 degree Celsius. 'It will be a handicap for soccer in general,' Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi said before the game. European teams feared the climate would furnish undue advantage to teams from the Americans, even though it was presumptuous as seven of the eight quarter finalists were from Europe. But heat has not had a direct bearing on the result. Atlanta Stadium, where Inter Miami stunned Porto, is an indoor facility. Botafogo shocked Paris Saint-Germain in a late match. In the same stadium Mexican side Monterrey held against Inter Milan. The only upset that could be attributed to weather is Brazil's Flamengo toppling Chelsea. The weather, according to meteorologists and researchers, would be no different during the World Cup. A research paper published in the The International Journal of Biometeorology in January projects that nine of the 16 venues will experience a wet bulb globe temperature (a metric that combines the effects of the air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed) above the accepted safety threshold of 28C and soar to 32-33C through most of the tournament. The highest corresponding number during the Qatar World Cup was 23C, which itself was considered unbearable by European teams. And unlike in Qatar, which happened mid-season, players would reach the Americas already fatigued by the league labours. Add heat and thunderstorms, delays and suspensions, and quite a few managers would repeat the words of Maresca.
