"Still Can't Work Out How He Hit That": Australia Great On Virat Kohli's Six Off Haris Rauf

Four T20 World Cup 2022 matches, three half-centuries, and two Player of the Match awards, it has been a stunning show of batting by former India captain Virat Kohli in Australia. The talismanic batter has done wonders whenever he has stepped on the pitch and it isn't just his Indian fans that are going gaga over his performances. Even Australia greats Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell have been full of praise for Kohli, both for the consistency he has shown and some of the shots he has hit in the tournament so far.

Virat Kohli arrived in the T20 World Cup with a point to prove, having not done much with the bat over the last couple of years. In his first game, that too against arch-rivals Pakistan, he slammed an unbeaten 82 to help India win a thriller.

In the 19th over of India's chase, Kohli slammed two sixes off Haris Rauf, bringing India back into the game. One of those sixes came straight down the ground, on the back foot, with a straight bat. The hit has widely been touted as the 'shot of the tournament.

During a chat on Wide World of Sports, former Australia cricketer Mark Taylor admitted that he still can't understand how Kohli executed that shot.

"I still rate the one at MCG where he hit Haris Rauf for a six back over his head, off the back foot, with a straight bat," Taylor said. "It still went 90 metres. I can't still work it out how that ball went for a six."

"I reckon if I hit that shot, mid-on would have been running in, diving in to take a catch!", he added.

Ian Chappel, also a part of the panel, recalled an old interview with Kohli where the India great had revealed why he doesn't like to hit cheeky T20 shots.

"We did an interview with Virat Kohli, couple of years ago. It was a magnificent example of talking about the game. When we asked Virat about why don't you use some of the fancy shots, he said, 'I don't want them to creep into my Test game'. That's one of the amazing things about Virat Kohli. He makes all these runs at a very good rate, and he does it with normal cricketing shots," Chappell said.

"Few [shots] elevate and he hit into the stands, that doesn't mean it's a slog. As Mark (Taylor) described, off the backfoot, hitting straight, it's a cricket shot, except you don't hit it in the air. But he did, and he did 90 metres!" he added.

With 220 runs to his name so far, Kohli is the top-scoring batter in the tournament. What's mind-boggling is that he has only been dismissed once in 4 matches.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Virat Kohli Mark Taylor Ian Michael Chappell ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Cricket