Kohli’s back as king, lights up WC with cracker of an innings

Hits 'Best Knock' As India Beat Pak In Thriller 

- Partha Bhaduri

Welcome to the T20 World Cup. Welcome to Virat Kohli's world. All 90,293 breathless spectators, Indians, and Pakistanis, stood up as one at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to applaud the brilliance of India's most complete all-format batter after he hit 82 not out off 53 balls to pull off one of India's most memorable victories in their T20 history.

Kohli said he "will count this higher than his 82 off 51 balls against Australia in Mohali (in 2016 T20 WC), which "was my best innings" so far.

Kohli is back, and there can be no better news for India as they begin their World Cup campaign in difficult conditions in Australia. He took control of a chase of 160 in the company of Hardik Pandya on a pacy, bouncy pitch after India had collapsed to 31/4 in 6.1 overs. Kohli and Pandya believed, putting on 113 runs for the fifth wicket as India got out of jail by four wickets.

T his is India's highest partnership in a successful chase, for any wicket, in T20 World Cups. Earlier, India's new, aggressive T20 batting template had been dismantled to pieces by Pakistan's searing pace trio of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah, who were playing together for the first time in international cricket. India's death bowling earlier had again come under scrutiny.