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16 runs were needed in the decisive over of the match. Virat Kohli was on the field. It was the 2022 T20 World Cup match at Melbourne, India was balancing on a thin wire, with Pakistan having a slight advantage.
Virat Kohli witnessed many thrillers throughout his career. But none of those come close to the India vs Pakistan match in 2022 in Australia. It was among the rare moments when the ‘chase master’ himself was under pressure, nerves were wrenching in front of thousands of fans.
Virat Kohli reveals the most nerve-testing match he ever played for India
In the recent interaction with Beyond the Boundary, Virat Kohli recalled the closing moments of the high-voltage match. Team India won the match in the final ball of the second innings. Ravichandran Ashwin snatched a single in the sixth ball of the 20th over to claim the target of 160. India won the match by 4 wickets. Virat Kohli was named the best player of the match.
The target of 160 was not amongst the massive totals in the history of T20I cricket. As the Rohit Sharma-led team kept losing wickets while chasing the total, the Men in Blue came under immense pressure.
Virat and Hardik Pandya kept India in the contest vs Pakistan
It was Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, who remained firm on the deck and carried the chase to the final over. The 113-run partnership between Kohli and Pandya proved match-turning. It reminded me of the 102-run partnership between MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.
In the end, Kohli remained unbeaten for 82 off 53, while Hardik Pandya lost his wicket on the first ball of the 20th over to Mohammad Nawaz, for 40 runs from 37 balls. Dinesh Karthik also lost his wicket in the over. Nawaz captured a brace in the final over of the match to keep the crowd on their feet.
Kohli had no option but to watch the wickets falling on the other end. Pakistan was also experiencing a nerve-breaking moment as it turned into an evenly fought contest as it was approaching to it’s final phase. Nawaz clinched the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik, which pushed India behind, but the extra runs he leaked influenced the result of the match.
'I'd never experienced adrenaline like that'
“The T20 against Pakistan in Melbourne. I'd never experienced adrenaline like that, since or before. I've had many games where we won from [tough] situations... even Mohali against Australia, it was tough, but you kind of knew what you wanted to do and how,” Kohli told via one8- Beyond the Boundary.
Virat Kohli and that #INDvPAK game at the MCG...
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) June 16, 2026
Uff 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GRTwPLSIs2
"This elevated me to a place where I'd never experienced something like that. And that's the only time I felt the emotions and feelings of everyone in the stadium. The players, the crowd, the people watching, they were all at the same level of tension, and that adrenaline after. That force of energy was completely different on that night,” he added further.
