Virat Kohli blasted 90 in a Twenty20 International in Adelaide against Australia, giving a billion Indian fans plenty of Republic Day cheer on Australia Day in 2016.
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January 26 is a special day for both India and Australia. In India, it is celebrated as Republic Day. The day is celebrated as Australia Day in Australia. The Australia day fixtures in the country are a common fixture in the international calendar for Australia, just like the Boxing Day and New Year Tests. On January 26, 2016, India and Australia played out a Twenty20 International in Adelaide. It witnessed a match that saw Virat Kohli reach the zenith in his batting. It was a year that saw Virat Kohli transcend all records in a magnificent display of aggression and power hitting.
Australia had won the ODI series 4-1 against India. But, the Indian cricket team had turned the corner by chasing down a target near 330 in the final match in Sydney. Thus, the confidence coming into Adelaide was high. Australia chose to bowl on a flat deck and it looked like their decision was mixed.
Rohit Sharma started off in blazing fashion with four boundaries and a six. Shikhar Dhawan, at the other end, was struggling. The opening stand reached 40 in just four overs but Shane Watson struck. He removed Rohit Sharma for 31 and in the same over, sent back Dhawan for 5. In came Virat Kohli and he took on the Australians in grand style.
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Kohli and Suresh Raina decided to counterattack and they began with a boundary each off Shaun Tait. The partnership grew and the Australians were fast running out of answers. At the halfway stage, India was scoring at a rate of close to eight runs per over. Virat Kohli upped the ante with a big six off Cameron Boyce. He then notched up his fifty off just 32 balls with two fours off Kane Richardson.
Kohli was now in the zone after reaching a fifty. He blasted two more fours off Shane Watson and flicked Tait for his second six. Raina joined in the fun by hammering Faulkner for a six as the partnership went past 100. Kohli raced to into the 80s with two fours off Richardson. Raina fell in the final over for 41 but MS Dhoni blasted a six and four in grand style. Kohli ended on 90 off 55 balls with a strike rate of 164. India finished on 188/3. For Kohli, he ensured Adelaide would be a special venue for him. In two Tests he played in 2012 and 2014 at the venue, he hit three centuries. During the 2015 ICC World Cup match against Pakistan, he hit another century.
After having decimated Australia with the bat, he gave it back on the field as well. He took two catches, including David Warner for 17 and Steve Smith for 21. When Smith was dismissed, Kohli gave him a lengthy send-off which was not appreciated. Jasprit Bumrah was the star with 3/23 and he was backed by two wickets from Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, and Hardik Pandya. India won the match by 37 runs but it was the start of a golden period for Kohli and India.
India became the first nation to whitewash Australia in any format Down Under as they won the Twenty20 series 3-0. For Kohli, it would not be the first time he would hurt Australia. In the ICC World T20 in 2016, Kohli blasted 82 in Mohali in a knock that was hailed as one of the greatest in the modern era. The year 2016 was a blockbuster for Virat Kohli. In Tests, he averaged 75 and scored 1215 runs. Kohli averaged 92 in ODIs but in T20Is, his average was a staggering 106 with a strike rate of 140.
It is a record that might be unparalleled in the history of cricket. The year 2016 was Kohli’s zenith as a player. Six years on, those feats are still talked about as a brilliant feat of batsmanship.
