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Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has said he is desperate to meet with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt so he can get his ban revoked

Cricinfo staff14-Aug-2010Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has said he is desperate to meet with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt so he can get his ban revoked, even going so far as to making several unsuccessful trips to the Gaddafi Stadium in the hope of arranging a meeting.”I am getting desperate now because if the PCB chairman goes abroad once again my appeal against the ban will be left pending for another month or so,” Naved told .The appellate tribunal headed by retired Justice Irfan Qadir is due to hear Naved’s appeal on August 21, but has asked him to meet with Butt before that.”I hope I can get some time with the PCB chairman so that I can state my case to him and have this ban removed,” he said. “If I am unable to meet with the PCB chairman before the next date of my appeal then I am afraid it will be prolonged for another month or so.”Naved, along with several of his team-mates, was punished by the PCB following the tour of Australia in 2009-10. He was banned for one year and slapped with a Rs 2 million fine. All the punished players, except for Naved, have met the PCB again and had their bans revoked, and fines lifted or reduced. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf, both of whom were banned, have since been recalled to the Pakistan side as well.”I am ready to go and apologise to PCB chairman if there is a feeling I did something wrong,” Naved said. “I am desperate to play for Pakistan again. But I am not being given the opportunity to state my case before the chairman.”Naved-ul-Hasan was recently permitted by the board to play county cricket. He has played nine Tests and 74 ODIs for Pakistan.

Support from coach and captain helped spinner rediscover his enjoyment for the game

Matt Roller21-Oct-2024Jack Leach believes that being dropped by England during their home summer enabled him to fall back in love with cricket, aided by an unexpected phone call from Ben Stokes in the aftermath of a Test win.Leach is the leading wicket-taker in England’s series in Pakistan with 14, but had only played two Tests in the 18 months before the tour and failed to complete either due to back and knee injuries. He had returned to full fitness after knee surgery by the time England picked their first Test of the summer in June, but they selected his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir instead.Bashir earned widespread praise after his match-winning five-wicket haul against West Indies at Trent Bridge, and was preferred throughout the rest of the summer. But when England returned to their Nottingham hotel after that win, Stokes called Leach to tell him that Bashir’s success did not mean he had been forgotten.”I felt really happy and proud,” Leach recalled on Monday, speaking at England’s hotel in Islamabad. “He just wanted to tell me how great I was, basically, in the way that he does, and just recognise how I’ve dealt with the situation. That gave me a chance to say some nice things back to him about what he’d given me, probably going back to 2019 at Headingley.Related

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“There’s just a mutual respect there, so it was a nice conversation to have for sure. It just reminded me that I was going about things in the right way, and gave me confidence I still had something to offer the team and I was a part of it, in a small way. That gave me good motivation for the remainder of the summer… a nice reminder that there was still a chance to play.”Leach admitted that he briefly feared that his England career would be over when he initially learned of his omission. “You always do,” he said. “After a long time out with injury, I maybe felt that might be it… I really understood the situation. If you’re not able to stay fit, then other people come in and do well, and Bash certainly did that.”But he was happy with the level of communication from England’s management throughout, and received a similar call from Brendon McCullum the day after speaking to Stokes in July. “I was really happy with that – and in a way, not surprised, because of what I’d experienced when I was there [in the squad],” he said. “I’m very thankful for that, and my relationship with those guys.”After a slow start to the season which saw him take nine wickets at 50.44 in his first four appearances for Somerset, Leach thrived at the end of the year with 36 at 15.86 in five matches. He said that the secret was as simple as “remembering what I’m about, and being happy with that” rather than worrying too much about making minor technical changes.”I just felt like I needed to rediscover that kid-like mentality of why you play the game,” Leach said. “You have that on the journey up to playing for England, that nothing-to-lose mentality. Then it’s like, ‘I’m here now, I want to keep that’. That’s tiring, it’s stressful, it’s not enjoyable… You forget what your main strengths are.”This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset – which is what I always wanted to do as a young boy – and to just simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that actually, that was good enough… I’ve discovered that again: just being myself, and actually really enjoying that.”Leach has outbowled Bashir in England’s first two Tests in Pakistan, but said that reclaiming his status as first-choice spinner is “not important” to him. “That’s not really in my thoughts,” he said. “I just want to keep building on what I’ve done in the summer and what I’m doing out here… For me, it’s all about the team. Maybe I’m at an age where that’s all that really matters to me.”The pair have worked closely together in Pakistan. “He’s just done so well,” Leach said of Bashir. “He’ll just be learning so much, so quickly. He’s quality. We have a good relationship, good fun, and try to work together. I try to help where I can. I don’t want to overload him with stuff: I feel like he’s just learning through playing, and it’s all going to come quite naturally.”The series decider starts on Thursday in Rawalpindi, with another turning pitch in prospect after Pakistan’s 152-run win last week. Two years ago, it was the scene of a famous England win: they racked up 657 in 101 overs in their first innings, and Leach applied the finishing touches when trapping Naseem Shah lbw on the final evening to seal the victory.”That’s probably my favourite wicket: just the pictures of the appeal, and then just after of everyone celebrating,” Leach said. “It was just such a good game to be part of.” England will hope for something similar this week, in their bid for a 2-1 series win.

Young batter one of four to reach fifty as Lancashire struggle for penetration

ECB Reporters Network12-Apr-2024Tom Prest suggested 2024 will be his breakthrough season by scoring an impeccable 85 as Hampshire edged day one of their Vitality County Championship clash with Lancashire.Former England under-19 captain Prest hinted at his first-class talents with his maiden ton towards the end of last season and opened his account this year with a high-quality knock.He was one of four half-century makers for the hosts – with Nick Gubbins, James Vince and Liam Dawson also reaching the milestone as Hampshire totted up 305 for six in front of their highest first-day-of-the-season crowd from over a decade.Nathan Lyon picked up his first two wickets for Lancashire during a mammoth 32-over day which yielded two for 97.Skipper Vince won the toss and chose to bat first, giving debutant Ali Orr an immediate chance to impress the Hampshire supporters after his winter move from Sussex.His collaboration with new opening partner Fletcha Middleton may need some work after the latter was run out in the ninth over by a George Balderson direct hit after a miscommunication.Orr departed four overs later when Tom Bailey cut him in two with a wicked in-jagger to be caught behind, but from there, Hampshire found more fluency and built partnerships in overcast conditions.Vince had come off a winter of seemingly endless white-ball cricket, taking him from Abu Dhabi to Australia, Dubai to Pakistan.He ended last season’s Championship campaign – one where he become Hampshire’s first batter to 1,000 first-class runs since 2016 – with 56 and began the new campaign in identical fettle.It was a look down and you missed it half-century, coming up in 62 balls but with hardly a shot in anger. It included a cover drive but otherwise kept the ball on a string to ease his side from danger in an 84-run stand with Gubbins, taking the score away from the worrying 26 for two.Gubbins, who had scored twin centuries on Lancashire’s previous trip to Utilita Bowl, unfurled his typically aesthetic yet steady knock to provide the foil for Vince before helping Prest lay the foundations for his innings.Australian spinner Lyon had been due to play for Hampshire in 2020 before Covid prevented him from arriving. His maiden first-class outing on what would have been his home ground saw him strike in his seventh over as Vince tamely turned to leg-slip.Lyon was given the lone front-line spinner furrow, with England left-armer Tom Hartley left out having played in the rain-affected draw against Surrey. The 36-year-old also lured Gubbins into a drive to edge behind three balls after reaching a 112-run 50 but the most intriguing passage of the day was Lyon’s battle with 21-year-old Prest.It began with a sharp chance at short-leg, which was followed by a maiden over where every ball landed on the same spot, before Prest replied with a pair of reverse sweeps. The battle would conclude with 33 runs and 34 dots in 51 balls – including the day’s only maximum on the slog sweep.Prest is one to watch this season after his maiden century in the penultimate fixture of last season, where he took down Simon Harmer in style.His 76-ball fifty oozed quality and underlined his tag but fell short of a century when he gloved a sweep to slip, three balls after Lyon had dropped a difficult chance on the dive. It ended a 93-run alliance with Dawson.Ben Brown fell soon after when Will Williams secured an edge to third slip with the second new ball but Dawson made it a quartet of fifty-makers with an unbeaten 61 – although was dropped on 51 before the close.

The Australia opener said he wouldn’t want his children hear some of the things being said

Andrew McGlashan17-Jul-2023Usman Khawaja believes abuse from the crowds towards players has gone too far – both in England and Australia.Khawaja was involved in the confrontation with MCC members in the Lord’s pavilion after the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow which has led to three members being suspended. However, he is equally concerned about what children in the stands are hearing as insults get hurled near the boundary.The Bairstow incident prompted strong reaction from the crowds, with Alex Carey saying there had been some “nasty stuff” said, but players had been facing plenty even before that.Related

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“Personally, if I am coming to the cricket and watching the cricket, I wouldn’t want my kids to be around that,” Khawaja said ahead of the Old Trafford Test. “If I saw that I would 100 percent make a complaint or just leave. I think some of the stuff can be pretty poor. Over at Edgbaston they were calling Travis Head a c… you know what. I’m like I can’t believe you can actually say that in a public domain anywhere.”England’s players are often quick to point out that they receive similar treatment on tours of Australia and Khawaja does not condone that either.”If you talk about it to England guys, they say we are equally as rough when [they go to Australia]. I don’t agree with it either way. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Khawaja said.”It can be a little disappointing at times, and I think we can take it too far in Australia. I’m not a big fan of it. I know watching a lot of sport and loving sport that it happens around the world. You watch the NBA [and] it happens there. Particularly when crowds can get real close to you, which they can in cricket. It is what it is, I don’t agree with it.”Khawaja would not be drawn into further discussion about the events in the Lord’s pavilion. “I’m just going to leave it there,” he said. “MCC are all over it. I trust them to do the right thing.”With the Ashes on the line, and Old Trafford another ground where the crowd can get boisterous, it is unlikely the Australians will be in for a quiet time this week.”There’s some nasty stuff been said but…it is the Ashes,” Carey said last week. “There was nasty stuff said before that as well. From Australia I still think we’ve got lots of fans and from England, I don’t think we’ve made any, but we probably didn’t lose any.”It is the Ashes we’ve got to remember, and we’ve had some amazing crowds. We love coming over here, we love playing the Ashes and my first experience [playing Test cricket] in England has been amazing.”

Northants struggle with bat before knockout hopes ended by six-wicket defeat

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2023Lancashire made it through to the Vitality Blast quarter-finals with a comfortable six-wicket victory that also ended Northants Steelbacks’ qualification hopes.Phil Salt smashed a 51-ball 74 as Lancashire chased down the Steelbacks 138 for seven with twenty balls to spare. The result means the Lightning will return to Emirates Old Trafford next Friday, where they are now unbeaten in 21 home games, to host their quarter-final tie against Surrey.Northants struck two early blows as the hosts set off in pursuit of their target, Jos Buttler cracking a short ball from David Willey to Saif Zaib on the cover boundary for 11, immediately after he had hit the bowler for six and four from consecutive deliveries. Steven Croft swiftly followed after top edging Tom Taylor to AJ Tye for 5.That left the Lightning ending the powerplay on 43 for 2 but Salt picked up the scoring with a six off Freddie Heidreich during a 35-run partnership in five overs with Liam Livingstone.Livingstone, the stand-in Lightning skipper, went for 11 slicing Taylor to Ricardo Vasconcelos at gully as Lancashire reached halfway on 74 for 3 but Daryl Mitchell was quickly into his stride driving Taylor for six into the pavilion seats.Salt continued to score freely as the hosts reduced their target to a-run-a-ball 44 before a mix-up saw Mitchell run out for 17. Undeterred, Salt reached a 40-ball half century by smashing Tye for six over long-on, and then took four, six, four off Justin Broad in the fifteenth over as the Lightning raced towards their target.The opening bat ended the contest in style with six off Taylor in the seventeenth over to finish unbeaten on a Lancashire-best 74 alongside Dane Vilas.A fine opening spell of 2 for 14 from three overs by Wood, after Livingstone had put the visitors in to bat, had Northants quickly on the back foot at the start of their innings. Vasconcelos was brilliantly caught for 12 by wicketkeeper Buttler diving to his left, followed by Emilio Gay who chipped the left arm quick to Luke Wells at mid-on two balls later.Northants then suffered a big blow when Willey departed for 10 attempting to hit Livingstone over midwicket to leave the Steelbacks struggling on 47 for 3, midway through the seventh over.Chris Lynn led an initial fightback launching Livingstone for consecutive sixes in the ninth over but he was then bowled for 35 aiming a big heave at Wells with the visitors on 74 for 4, one ball into the 11th over.Zaib pulled Mitchell to Wells at fine leg for 12 and the Steelbacks only managed to get any impetus into their innings during a 40-run partnership for the sixth wicket between McManus and Broad. McManus hoisted a slower ball from Tom Bailey into the hands of Wood at long-on having made 22 while Broad smashed a six over midwicket in his unbeaten 34 off 26 balls.Wood returned to bowl Tye for 1 as Northants closed on 138 for 7.

Match referee Andy Pycroft ruled that the surface provided “almost no assistance to any type of bowler”

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2022The Rawalpindi pitch has earned a “below average” rating for the second time in 2022. The latest rating follows the first Test between Pakistan and England earlier this month, in which England racked up a record 506 runs on day one to set up an eventual 74-run win.Though the match ended in a decisive result, there was little joy for the bowlers particularly in the first two innings, which produced seven centuries and totals of 657 and 579. England scored at well above a run a ball in both their innings.On day two of the Test match, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had termed the pitch “embarrassing”, and suggested that the contest it produced was “not a good advert for Test cricket”.Related

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ICC match referee Andy Pycroft seemed to agree with him while handing out a “below average” rating and a demerit point on Tuesday.”It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler,” Pycroft said. “That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals.”The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines.”In March, when Rawalpindi hosted the first Test of Australia’s tour of Pakistan, bat dominated ball to the extent that 1187 runs were scored for the loss of only 14 wickets over five days. That pitch had earned a “below average” rating too, with match referee Ranjan Madugalle noting that the Test match did not “represent an even contest between bat and ball”.Rawalpindi has now received demerit points in successive Test matches. Demerit points remain active for a five-year rolling period, and a venue stands to be suspended from hosting international cricket for a period of five years if it accumulates five demerit points. A “below average” rating earns a venue one demerit point, while “poor” and “unfit” ratings earn three and five demerit points, respectively.

Are we in for a sequel to Colombo 2018?

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-20223:23

Maharoof surprised by Shanaka comments: ‘He’s usually not that outspoken’

Things are heating up ahead of the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka game at the 2022 Asia Cup, a must-win match for both teams, with players, past and present, on both sides having taken pot shots at the opposition in the lead-up. Following Bangladesh team director and former captain Khaled Mahmud’s comments on match eve that this Sri Lanka side has no bowlers of note, which in itself was a response to Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka having earlier in the week talked down Bangladesh’s attack, former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has got in on the act. He tweeted on Thursday morning: Later in the day, Nurul Hasan, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper who’s missing the Asia Cup due to a finger injury, tweeted: Today’s match will decide which of the two teams proceed to the Super 4s from Group B, alongside Afghanistan, who have already beaten both. Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan to kick off the tournament, bowled out for 105 before Afghanistan chased down the target with eight wickets and 59 balls to spare. In the aftermath of that rout, looking ahead to a must-win game for his side, Shanaka had said: “Afghanistan has a world-class bowling attack. [But] we know Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman] is a good bowler. Shakib [al Hasan] is a world-class bowler. But apart from them, there is no world-class bowler in the side. So if we compare with Afghanistan, Bangladesh is an easier opponent.”Bangladesh, in turn, were beaten by Afghanistan by seven wickets two days ago, setting up a straight knockout with Sri Lanka. Mahmud was harsh on his team’s batters following that, but also took time to have a go at Shanaka. “I don’t know why Dasun made that comment,” he said. “Definitely Afghanistan has a better squad. He said we have only two bowlers in our line-up, but I don’t see any bowlers in Sri Lanka. At least Bangladesh has world-class bowlers like Mustafiz and Shakib. They don’t even have that.”Both teams have previous history, triggered by Nazmul Islam’s “naagin dance”, which escalated from a wicket celebration to a tool for players on both sides to rile up opposition, all eventually ending in ugly scenes at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo following a close-fought and ill-tempered Nidahas Trophy game in March 2018, which included a smashed dressing-room door. Shanaka had played that match, and Nurul was a substitute who was entangled in on-field arguments on the day.

If the batting can back up the bowling, the visitors can make this a fabulously exciting series

Danyal Rasool25-Dec-2020

Big picture

This isn’t the Boxing Day Test that’ll fill the most column inches, generate the greatest number of app notifications or create the most viral hashtags on Twitter. Mount Maunganui, sadly, is no match for Melbourne as New Zealand and Pakistan don’t quite stack up against their giant neighbours, Australia and India, who also face each other on the same day. But for those interested in more niche contests, more arcane storylines, and arguably equally absorbing cricket, tuning into this Test instead of that one promises to leave you equally satiated.

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Set aside the financial might of Australia and India, and you’ll find New Zealand vs Pakistan stacks up well against it on cricketing merit. New Zealand, for one, don’t intend to play dark horses to anyone these days, as they look to clinch two further Test wins to complement their 2-0 series win against West Indies and get one foot in the World Test Championship final. Pakistan, though heavy underdogs, will be buoyed by an impressive performance against England despite losing the series 1-0; the scoreline doesn’t quite reflect how close they were to a memorable series win. If they can bring that same fight, and, more importantly, bowling quality, to these two Tests, New Zealand will find these Tests won’t be the cakewalk the ones against Jason Holder’s men ended up being.New Zealand, though, are a fearfully well-oiled machine who relentlessly stack up the series wins at home. Only South Africa and Australia have beaten New Zealand in a Test series at home since January 2011. For much of this time, the core of this side has contained arguably two batsmen and two bowlers who rank among the greatest ever New Zealand cricketers: Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Trent Boult. The presence of Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Neil Wagner ensures the home side is neither unbalanced nor overly reliant on a handful of individuals.Related

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Pakistan, meanwhile, have been left reeling by the absence of Babar Azam, who was due to make his debut as Test captain. It not only leaves a big hole in the heart of the batting line-up but also means Mohammad Rizwan needs to take on even greater responsibility – as stand-in captain, batsman and wicketkeeper, while the openers, who didn’t quite manage much against New Zealand A last week, will need to step up. The trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas with the ball are by far Pakistan’s biggest hopes of discomfiting New Zealand over the next fortnight, with a helping hand from the batsmen carrying the potential to make this a fabulously exciting series.

Form guide

Pakistan DDLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWLHenry Nicholls has fought his way to become one of New Zealand’s first-choice picks•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Henry Nicholls might have been thought of as a utility squad player when he made his Test debut four years ago, and didn’t look up to much when Pakistan last visited in 2016, managing just 69 runs all series. It was a different story in the UAE two years later, where he demonstrated the sort of unflashy grit that has made him a mainstay in the New Zealand middle order. Managing two steely fifties, and a history-making, series-winning hundred in the third Test, he was among the unsung heroes for New Zealand as Williamson swept the awards, and his value to this New Zealand Test side has only increased since. With an average on the right side of 40, and 174 in his last Test innings against West Indies, Nicholls is in the sort of form to set the record straight.Mohammad Abbas‘s eyes might light up at how green the New Zealand surface will invariably look, much as West Indies’ did when they opted to bowl after winning the toss twice. New Zealand first innings scores of 519 and 460, however, suggested the colour of the surface doesn’t mean a whole lot without quality bowlers. Abbas, who butters his bread thanks to his accuracy and seam movement, would do well to remember that. If he manages to keep his focus on what his strengths are: line, length and subtle seam movement, rather than getting greedy and throwing the ball up in search of unrealistic swing movement, he may well be unplayable.

Team news

New Zealand have a full-strength, well-rested squad available to them, with Williamson back, having missed the second Test against West Indies for the birth of his daughter. That could edge out Will Young, with the rest of the line-up likely unchangedNew Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Tom Blundell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent BoultBalance is the problem for Pakistan, with the absence of a genuine allrounder in the squad. Shadab Khan might have been tasked with that job, but with him ruled out, Pakistan look set to play potentially a batsman light.Pakistan (probable): 1 Shan Masood, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Fawad Alam, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (capt & wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Yasir Shah/Sohail Khan, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Naseem Shah

Pitch and conditions

Mount Maunganui has hosted only one Test till date – against England last year. It was something of a turgid surface, albeit one that led to a New Zealand innings victory. The toss, and early wickets with the new ball, will be vital. The weather is fine for four out of five days, with rain expected for much of Sunday.

Stats and trivia

• Before New Zealand commenced their current unbeaten home run against all sides barring Australia and South Africa, Pakistan were the last side to beat them in a series, 1-0 in 2010-11.
• New Zealand’s fast bowling attack is significantly more seasoned than their Pakistani counterparts. Pakistan’s entire fast bowling contingent in New Zealand – Abbas, Afridi, Shah, Sohail Khan, Ashraf – have a combined 169 Test wickets. Each of Southee (296), Boult (272) and Wagner (215) have more wickets on their own.

Sri Lanka Cricket has suspended Kithuruwan Vithanage from all forms of cricket for one year for his part in a public brawl in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2016Sri Lanka Cricket has suspended batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage from all forms of the game for one year for his part in a public brawl in Colombo. In a hearing conducted on June 16, SLC’s disciplinary committee found Vithanage guilty of misconduct and in breach of the ICC code of conduct.The suspension not only makes Vithanage ineligible for international and Sri Lanka A team cricket, he is also unable to represent his club – Tamil Union – in the Premier tournaments, and is barred from any provincial tournaments in the coming domestic season. SLC’s severity on this occasion is a reflection of existing displeasure at Vithanage’s conduct. In September 2014, Vithanage was docked his full match fee and handed a “suspended sentence of one year” after leaving the team hotel overnight in the middle of a Test match he was playing. It is understood that at least two other breaches of conduct had been dealt with informally.In this case, SLC said its disciplinary committee “was presented with written and oral evidence from witnesses to the incident in question and Vithanage was invited to present similar evidence in his defence.”After a closed hearing, and in consideration of the evaluation of the evidence presented, the Disciplinary Committee has recommended an immediate suspension, specifically drawing attention to the fact that the conduct of Vithanage is ‘unacceptable when considering his status as a public figure, and a role model for the youth of Sri Lanka’.” Vithanage can appeal the decision.He last played for Sri Lanka during the tour of New Zealand in December and January, but his modest returns on that tour had seen him drop out of contention for national selection. Vithanage, 25, has scored 370 runs at an average of 26.42 in ten Tests, and has also played six ODIs and three T20Is.

An emotional Virat Kohli called his unbeaten, match-winning, World T20 semi-final spot sealing 82 off 51 balls as his best innings in the format

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-20163:18

Match Day: Kohli’s low dot-ball percentage was crucial

An emotional Virat Kohli has called his unbeaten, match-winning and World T20 semi-final spot sealing 82 off 51 balls as his best innings in the format. India had been set a target of 161, and they were fading away at 94 for 4 in the 14th over. The required run-rate had hit double-digits as early as the 10th over, but Kohli took it head on and did so by trusting his game.In February, he had spoken about coming to terms with not being able to hit as many sixes as he’d like, and that he had worked past that by looking for fours. The work he had done towards that goal came to fruition in Mohali as he single-handedly led India to victory. Eight of his 11 boundaries came in the last five overs.”It certainly has to be in the top three,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “Probably the top right now, because I’m a bit emotional, so I would like to put this on top. Against Australia, a world-class side, literally a quarter-final for us, we had to go over the line. There’s a lot riding on us in this World Cup, we are playing at home and the crowds want to see us and we just want to give them as much entertainment and fun as possible.”The game was packed up with five balls to spare and Kohli, who was at the non-strikers’ end, simply raised his hands in triumph and fell to his knees with nothing more than a smile. He has a reputation of not holding back while celebrating, but this innings and the weight it lent in turning the match India’s way had hit him hard.”I don’t really know what to say right now, because I’m overwhelmed by the position we were in and then to take out the match,” Kohli said. “This is what you play cricket for. You need new challenges in every game, but trust me, you don’t like these situations too much.”The man who reined those emotions in while the battle was at its peak was India’s captain MS Dhoni. “MS, in the end, kept me calm. I could have gotten over-excited so I think it was a wonderful team batting effort and very happy we crossed the line,” Kohli said.The reason Kohli, one of the best chasers in the limited-overs game, was feeling uncertain was because of how much India struggled during the middle-overs. Suresh Raina fell to the short ball in the eighth over leaving the score at 49 for 3, and the incoming batsman Yuvraj Singh hurt his left ankle off the second ball he faced. From that time, India had to settle for 40 runs in 35 balls and found the boundary only twice.”It was a bit tough at that time to focus on what we need to do,” Kohli admitted. “He’s [Yuvraj] such an explosive player, you don’t have to have him at 60-70%.”He just decided that he was just going to go for the team’s cause. He perished, but it was a good thought because if you are injured, you might as well make the most of the balls that you are going to play because you are not going to be able to push as you want to push as a runner. I think that was a great call.”Virat Kohli is floored by emotion after sealing a famous win for India•Getty Images

India began reeling back lost ground with the partnership between Kohli and Dhoni, which was kickstarted by singles and twos. “Me and him have a great understanding as to where to hit the ball and how to push the fielders on the boundary and that’s why you train in the gym,” Kohli said. “That’s why you do those fitness regimes, those sprints, and all the other tests that you go through. It all helps. I like to play for when I’m tired, I should be able to run as fast as when I’m on zero and I think that training paid off today.”Another factor in upping his game tonight was the crowd. “The support was unbelievable. Mohali has always been special. We played the 2011 World Cup semi-final here, the atmosphere was electrifying and as I said, the positive energy from the people in the stadium helps you push through those tough moments and a bit of luck goes your way as well”Kohli hit seven of his nine fours in the last five overs, and a lot of them were placed with skillful precision. It began when he picked a slower ball – the first ball of the 18th over – from James Faulkner and clattered it to the square leg boundary. The next one – a wide yorker – was calmly steered to the backward point boundary and a lofted thwack over extra cover for six provided the exclamation point. Kohli had taken control as those six balls yielded 19 runs.The penultimate over, from Nathan Coulter-Nile, was crashed for four fours despite what length the bowler bowled. Half-volleys were easy. Length balls simply provided leverage and the short ball was caned to the fine-leg boundary because the man was inside the circle.Before that sequence, India had to get 39 off 18. After it, the equation was a mere 4 off 6.”That was a pretty serious innings, that,” Australia captain Steven Smith said when asked if one man had beaten his side tonight, “Under pressure, he just hit everything out of the middle and found the gaps. And he’s done it for a very long time and credit to him, he played beautifully.”Dhoni was lavish with his praise for Kohli as well, but underneath that lay a rap for the rest of the Indian batsmen.”I think he has been playing brilliantly in the last two-three, maybe four years, and we have seen him evolve as a cricketer,” Dhoni said. “That is something that is very important. Everyday when you turn [up] on the field, when you play a big innings, you want to improve and you want to keep the learning because you will commit mistakes but what is important is to take the positives out of game and that’s what he has done.”He has kept improving his game, he is very hungry to score runs for the team and that’s what really counts and actually it’s the other batsmen who have to step up. You can’t rely on one batsman, yes the others have contributed, but still at the same time, if we can do a bit more with the bat at the top of the order and the middle overs, I think we will feel the pressure slightly less. Also, it will be good, because still we feel we are batting at 65% barring Virat”