'Selfish' becomes top trend on Twitter after Virat Kohli's 76-run knock off 59 balls in T20 World Cup final

Virat Kohli, on Saturday (June 29), roared back to form with a brilliant fifty to guide India to a competitive total against South Africa in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

All eyes were on the former India skipper after his poor run in the competition before the final. He had managed to score only 75 runs in 7 games in the tournament. However, he regained his form just when India needed his services the most, playing a brilliant knock to bail the team out of trouble in the title decider.

India were off to a disastrous start after Rohit Sharma opted to bat first. They lost three wickets inside the powerplay including the wicket of their in-form captain. In the second over, Keshav Maharaj dismissed Rohit Sharma (9) and Rishabh Pant (0) cheaply to put South Africa on top. In the 5th over, Kagiso Rabada dismissed Suryakumar Yadav for 3 to reduce India to 34 for 3.

Virat Kohli's fighting knock:

Having lost three wickets inside five overs, India needed Virat Kohli to stand firm at his end and the batting star did not disappoint. He bailed the team out of trouble with a brilliant knock of 76 runs. The knock came off 59 balls and was studded with 6 fours and 2 sixes. 

Virat Kohli and Axar Patel steadied the ship by sharing a 72-run stand for the fourth wicket. The partnership ended in the 14th over when Axar was run out for 14. Unlike Axar, Kohli went on to complete his fifty and was eventually dismissed by Marco Jansen in the 19th over.

The cricketing fraternity was quick to praise Kohli for delivering in the final. At the same time, a few fans also criticized Kohli for not being aggressive enough during the knock. 

Here are some of the reactions to Virat Kohli's knock:

Whole India to Virat Kohli. #INDvsSAFinal pic.twitter.com/wqR0AK48MN

— Mikku 🐼 (@effucktivehumor) June 29, 2024

Always the KINGGGGG

well done @imVkohli

👏👏👏👏👏#INDvSA #T20WorldCup #CricketTwitter

— DK (@DineshKarthik) June 29, 2024

Gautam Gambhir 2007
Gautam Gambhir 2011
Virat Kohli 2024

Dilli waalo se hi hoga. Maaro bc 👊🏻#INDvSA #T20WorldCup

— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) June 29, 2024

As I said earlier, a @imVkohli special was brewing for tonight!! Vintage Kohli rising up in the big game providing stability to the team and ticking the runs on the board. Time to accelerate now 🔥

— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) June 29, 2024

failed in every single match from group stage , all thought his legacy would end up as a disaster & here's my man writing his own script as he always does 😭🔥

REMEMBER YOU CAN NEVER SHUT THE SUN DOWN , SO AS KOHLI 👑 pic.twitter.com/3RmH5eb4uB

— KఅLKI🕊️ (@CopBloodiest) June 29, 2024

People calling virat selfish, don't know anything about cricket #INDvSA

— Harsh Pandey (@iam_the4th) June 29, 2024

Shame on people calling Kohli selfish for this innings.

Right after fifty he started playing for the team. What did others do? Where is any fifty in scorecard?

— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) June 29, 2024

Most selfish player.

48 ball me kaun 50 maarta hai? Wo bhi worldcup final me. pic.twitter.com/vgPvVfUb38

— यमराज (@autopsy_surgeon) June 29, 2024

Virat Chokli - 76 (59)
Rest of the team - 100(61)

Selfish Statpadder holding India back 💔pic.twitter.com/suaRd4GPCe

— 🄺Ⓐ🅃🄷🄸🅁 1⃣5⃣ (@katthikathir) June 29, 2024

Selfish is the last word people should associate with Virat Kohli! You don’t even understand cricket if you think that guy would care about milestones in a World Cup final. He has his limitations in this format but one can never question his intentions. #INDvSA #T20WorldCup

— Mohsin Kamal (@64MohsinKamal) June 29, 2024

डालो भाई "Selfish इनिंग को what a great inning करके!!#T20WorldCup #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/IDa1YCgilA

— kw prince ( MODI KA PARIVAR ) (@coo_of_kw2) June 29, 2024

After a match-winning catch against Australia and a superb bowling display in the semi-finals, @akshar2026's fine knock today kept the momentum going for India.

Some players accelerate at the start, others do so at the end. @imVkohli paced his innings well today. He stitched…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 29, 2024

Even after 16 Years of cricket , the entire nation still relies on Virat Kohli in a WC Final is quite an achievement 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GgE7shQV4J

— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) June 29, 2024

What a comeback in the game by Indian team,a Great partnership between @imVkohli and Axsar made things better for india..@imVkohli is a big match player…what a Brilliant knock … #INDvSAFinal

— Kamran Akmal (@KamiAkmal23) June 29, 2024

King 👑 @imVkohli the goat 🙌🏽 #T20WorldCup #INDvsSAFinal#T20WorldCup2024

— Fawad Ahmed (@FawadAhmed52) June 29, 2024

Cometh the hour….Cometh The Kohli.

Well played 👏👏#IndvSA #WorldCupFinal

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 29, 2024

Show me any player more selfish than Virat Kohli, and I'll delete my account😎.
He played slowly until he reached 50 for his own selfish reasons🥲, putting everyone else under pressure.

76(59) in a highway pitch 🤢..Shame#INDvsSA2024 #INDvSA #T20WorldCup #IndiavsSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/C0aG8Mu3l5

— Mr_br29 (@BudhiprakashBi4) June 29, 2024

Talking about the game, India recovered from 34 for 3 to post 176 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje picked up two wickets each. In reply, South Africa were reeling at 13 for 2 in the 3rd over at the time of writing this report.