Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were conducting and controlling the orchestra all by themselves in the cauldron of Wankhede in front of 35000 spectators. After smashing literally everything in their sight and reach, the massive partnership finally came to an end in the 12th over. To everyone's surprise, Rishabh Pant walked in at number 3 with the score at 135-1 and departed just off his second delivery, holing out at long off. Wankhede was up on its feet, cheering for Virat Kohli and there he was taking guard and looking in the opposition's eyes. Up until the 10th over, 230 looked seemingly gettable but after a couple of quiet overs in the middle of the innings, it began to look a distant possibility. Kohli walked in and only off his 4th delivery, smashed the leggie Hayden Walsh Jr. for a six over long on. Virat Kohli likes the big stage and he likes a challenge. The theatre was set and the spectators were craving for a Virat special. In the very next over, Kohli walloped Jason Holder for 14 runs in 3 balls which included a whip over backward square leg. Kesrick Williams bowled a very good over and managed to keep both Virat Kohli and KL Rahul quiet for the entirety of his over. An outside edge off Sheldon Cottrell earned Kohli another boundary as Kesrick Williams was handed the ball to bowl his final over and probably to decide the mini battle that was going on between him and Virat Kohli throughout the series. No drama off the first ball as Kohli could only manage a leg bye. Rahul then gave the strike back to Kohli not before hitting Williams for a clean strike over long off. Williams came running in with all of 35000 people chanting Virat Kohli's name. He bowled a slower one right in the slot. Virat Kohli said thank you very much and put the ball over cow corner twenty rows back in the Divecha Pavilion. The reaction on Kohli's face was priceless. He was almost telling poor Kesrick - "Wow! Look how far did I hit you!" Kohli managed a single off the last ball. The chapter was closed, Kohli had won and closed it hands down. Pollard himself took the responsibility of bowling the penultimate over. Kohli was on 38 as he began the over by putting the first ball over mid wicket for a clean hit. Pollard followed a length delivery followed by another slower one in the slot and Kohli managed to clear the short square boundary at the Wankhede with ease. He brought up his fifty, celebrated with a big fist pump and this was Kohli of the old, in the face all of the time. The next thing he did was search for Kesrick Williams and he finally found him at short fine. He showed the bat to him and took the guard once again. The last thing you want to do when playing against Virat Kohli is to rile him up. Players like Virat Kohli love challenges and they relish them. If you don't say anything to him, the silence might get to him but Windies had different plans and they rightfully paid the price for it. Kohli was batting on 50, long way from being done with it. Pollard overstepped and Kohli smashed the free hit straight towards the fielder at deep cover. It was hit so hard that the fielder couldn't stop it and the skills required by camercaman to follow the ball had to be insane. Another very ordinary delivery, another whip by Virat Kohli and another six, sixth of his innings, that's how the over ended, 27 runs off it! Sheldon Cottrell, the most successful West Indian bowler on the day, came on to bowl the last over. He bowled the first five deliveries exceptionally well in which he successfully denied KL Rahul a century by bouncing him out on 91. The way the innings had panned out, completely dominated by the Indian batters, it was only fair that the innings ended in style and it did. Cottrell missed his mark by a couple of inches and Kohli was quick to take advantage of it. Kohli swung through the line, bang! Straight over the sightscreen for another six! 70 off 29, Kohli had completed the redemption from Trivandrum. It was not a typical Kohli innings, was it? Kohli in T20s is very similar to Kohli in 50 overs cricket, all of class. But this innings, he went smash-bang-wallop almost from the get go. Everyone excpeted a soothing typical Kohli innings, still scoring at a fair clip, but Kohli had something very special to dish out. No sighters whatsoever, he went the aerial route straightaway. Rohit and KL had set the stage on fire and just as the first wicket fell, Kohli was expected to take over the orchestra and the concert with some classical music. But there was a lesson for everyone when Rishabh Pant miserably failed in front of a full house - irrespective of the situation, the best batsman in the world must bat at 3. Crowd was ready to enjoy some classical stuff but instead it was time one of the greatest artist in cricket went rock & roll for an hour and took everyone for a ride. After his emphatic 94 in the first T20 in Hyderabad, he said that he focuses on getting the job done rather than entertaining the crowd but this was as contrasting as it could get. He was smashing them out of the park and enjoying every moment of it. With every cricketing sense applied, the innings from Virat Kohli was an all time classic!
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