Rohit Sharma lifts Virat Kohli in joy after India beat Pakistan, video goes viral
Melbourne, Oct 23: India captain Rohit Sharma didn't bat an eyelid before declaring Virat Kohli's 82 here on Sunday as not only his best but the most accomplished knock played in the country's T20 history.
Kohli has had his issues with form, but his skipper didn't count himself among the Doubting Thomases, who had termed him well past his sell-by-date.
"Yeah, I think it has to go -- definitely his best for sure, but I think from the situation we were in, and to come out with a victory, I think it has to be one of India's best knocks, not just his best knock," Rohit told mediapersons after India's T20 World Cup win against Pakistan.
He explained why he rated this innings as India's No. 1 T20 knock.
"Because until the 13th over (needing close to 100 runs), we were so behind in the game, and the required rate was just climbing up and up. But to come out and chase that score was an extremely brilliant effort from Virat, and then obviously Hardik (Pandya) played a role there, as well," the skipper didn't forget to praise his all-rounder.
Both Kohli and Pandya are veterans of many close T20 contests, which they had pulled off under pressure at the international as well as IPL level.
"I thought both of them, because these guys have played under pressure so many games for us, so they knew exactly how to handle that kind of situation, and they did pretty well in that situation," the skipper said.
While most of the cricket fans questioned whether Kohli's ability to win big games was on the wane, Rohit has been consistent that it was never the case.
"Speaking about Virat, I honestly don't think he was struggling with form or anything. He was batting as good as he was, but with him, the expectations are always so high that even if he gets a good 30 or 40, people tend to talk about it," Rohit reiterated the need to temper down expectations at times.
As a part of the team management, Rohit never felt the need to put pressure on Kohli.
"From the team management's perspective, I thought he was in good space right from the Asia Cup, where he got a month off and then he came back to Asia Cup. He was fresh, got a brilliant hundred there, got a couple of fifties if I'm not wrong.
"And then leading up to the World Cup, we know the quality that he has, and he's done so well in these type of conditions in all three forms."
All about using experience
Kohli had pulled off a similarly incredible chase six years ago in Mohali, during a knock-out T20 World Cup game against Australia.
"Obviously, he (Kohli) used his experience today more than anything else, staying calm under pressure, and we know how good he is when the score is in front of him. He's one of the best chasers in the world.
"I thought that partnership between both of these guys, the hundred-run partnership, was a game-changing moment."
Flicked six off Rauf made us believe we can do it
What had floored Rohit was how the duo (Kohli-Pandya) planned their 113-run stand. But when Haris Rauf was hit for two sixes, the skipper believed that they could just win this one.
"It was probably one of the best I've witnessed in a partnership, and then obviously Virat was brilliant. Those two successive sixes off Haris Rauf, I won't call it the turning point but would definitely say; this is where the game actually came towards us a little bit," he added.
"We always knew there was one over of spin bowling. So inside the dressing room we were thinking if we can keep about 15 to 18 runs in the last over, the guy is going to be under pressure to bowl that last over.
"He bowled that last over against us in Asia Cup and Hardik played some shots against him."
Rohit said he knew that once Mohammed Nawaz was hit for two sixes in his first over, he won't be given a ball. But as things panned out, the pacers finished their quota of overs and Babar Azam was forced to use his left-arm spinner.
"Obviously, it's not easy when you have to bowl the last over being a spinner and only 15 or 18 runs to defend. It's not easy."
Pressure is a two-way street for skipper
Everyone was talking about the pressure under which Pandya and Kohli were while batting but since these two were there in the middle, the Indian skipper felt that even the Pakistan bowlers were under the pump.
"It sometimes plays both ways. The pressure is always on the bowler, I believe, in that type of situation. Yeah, I think we held our own pretty well in the last three overs. That was good to watch."
Watch Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's celebration as India beat Pakistan:
The moment Rohit Sharma lifted Virat Kohli - The Best moment of this match. pic.twitter.com/bg0Sq8ZKp5
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) October 23, 2022
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Congress not just removed clothes at AI Summit but exposed its intellectual bankruptcy: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday came down heavily on the Congress for the shirtless protest by its youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit recently, saying the opposition party can tear as many clothes as it wants, but his government will continue to work for the country's progress.
Addressing the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Modi also said that the Congress did not just remove its clothes in front of foreign guests but also exposed its intellectual bankruptcy, asserting that the millennials have already taught the country's oldest party a lesson, and now Gen-Z is ready to do the same.
In an apparent jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said the opposition was unhappy seeing the statue of "Babbar Shers" (lions) installed atop the new Parliament building, but their own “Babbar Shers" were running away after facing the "shoes" of the general public.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had said on February 24 that he was proud of the "Babbar Shers" of the Indian Youth Congress, who "fearlessly" raised their voice at the AI Summit.
"Congress ke Babbar Sher logon ki jute kha ke bhaag gaye (The 'lions' of Congress ran away after being hit by shoes by the public)," Modi said.
The prime minister was apparently referring to the protesting Youth Congress workers being heckled by some people at the AI Summit.
On February 20, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue in Delhi by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with anti-government slogans, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.
“Congress can tear as many clothes as it wants, but we will continue to work for India's development. Congress not just shed clothes at the AI Summit, it also exposed its incapabilities in front of foreign guests,” Modi said in his nearly 45-minute speech.
He said the AI Summit was a moment of pride for the entire nation, but unfortunately, Congress attempted to tarnish this national celebration.
"When the frustration and despair of failure weigh on the mind, and arrogance makes one's head spin, such a mindset emerges to defame the country," he said.
The prime minister also alleged that the Congress always takes refuge in Mahatma Gandhi to hide its failures, but tries to give credit to one family for anything good.
"People of our country welcomed every good step taken by our government, but the Congress only knows how to oppose everything. The votes of Congress are not stolen; rather, people do not consider Congress worthy of their votes. Millennials first taught a lesson to Congress, now Gen-Z is ready to do the same," he said.
Modi also said that in a democracy, the role of the opposition is not just about blindly opposing every move of the government, but presenting an alternative vision, and that is why the "enlightened public" of the country is "teaching a lesson" to Congress now.
In 1984, the Congress got 39 per cent of the votes and more than 400 seats. But its votes declined consistently in the subsequent elections, Modi said.
"Today, the condition of the Congress is such that it has more than 50 MLAs in just four states. Over the past 40 years, the number of young voters in the country has increased, but the Congress has clearly diminished," Modi said.
On the recent trade deals that India signed with foreign countries, Modi said the country has discovered its inherent strength and strengthened its institutions, which prompted developed nations to come forward and sign deals with India.
He also said that even after Independence, some people ensured that the colonial mindset remained for their own benefits.
"No country would have done trade deals with us had we not discovered our inherent strength and strengthened our institutions. Because of this, developed nations have come forward to sign trade deals (with India)," he said.
Modi also said that even after Independence, India was unable to break free from the mentality of slavery, for which the country is still paying the price.
"The latest example of this can be seen in the ongoing discussions on trade deals. Some people are shocked – ‘what has happened, how did this happen? Why are developed countries so eager to do trade deals with India?’ The answer is – a confident India is emerging from despair and frustration," he said.
Over the long span of history, centuries of slavery had instilled a feeling of inferiority, while the ideology imported from other countries deeply ingrained in society the notion that Indians were uneducated and subservient, the prime minister said.
"If the country was still mired in the despair of the pre-2014 era, counted among the 'Fragile Five', and gripped by policy paralysis, who would strike a trade deal with us?
"Over the past 11 years, a new surge of energy has flowed into the nation's consciousness. India is now striving to reclaim its lost potential," Modi said.
The prime minister also said that due to the recent series of reforms initiated by his government, the world's most powerful nations are now coming forward to sign trade deals with India.
"There was a time when India was only a consumer of new technology. But now we are not just developing them, but also setting standards," he said.
The prime minister also said that India's digital public infrastructure has become a subject of global discussion today, and every move India makes is closely watched and analysed across the world.
"The AI Summit was a clear example of this," he said.
The government's 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' is not a political slogan but an effort to correct the mistakes of the previous Congress governments by making India self-reliant, he said.
“So far, in every industrial revolution, India and the Global South largely remained followers, but in this age of artificial intelligence (AI), India is not only participating but is also shaping it. India now has its own AI startup ecosystem,” Modi said.
He also said the world is astonished that India, where around 30 million families lived in darkness until 2014, has now risen to become one of the top countries in solar power capacity.
India, where many cities had no hope of improving their public transport system, has now become the country with the world's third-largest Metro network, Modi said.
“The Indian Railways was known only for chronic delays and sluggish speeds, yet semi-high-speed connectivity like Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat has now become possible,” he said.
Nation-building never happens through short-term thinking; it is shaped by a long-term vision, patience and timely decisions, the prime minister added.
