Men's ICC T20 World Cup: Immortality at Melbourne Cricket Ground

MELBOURNE: He might have been "lost for words" by the end of it, but Virat Kohli was sure that his undefeated 53-ball 82 against Pakistan on Sunday in India's T20 World Cup opener at the MCG was the best T20 innings of his career, "because of the magnitude of the game and what the situation was".

From 31 for 4, when India were staring at a possible defeat, Kohli masterminded a spirited comeback with Hardik Pandya with a 113-run partnership for the fifth wicket. It was still not job done, but Kohli was front and centre right till the end as the game moved into a dramatic last over, which involved two wickets, a no-ball for height, a wide, a six - from Kohli, who else! - and arguments between the Pakistan players and the umpires, before R Ashwin hit the winning run off the last ball.

"It's a surreal atmosphere," Kohli told former India coach Ravi Shastri on Star Sports after the game. "I honestly have no words. I have no idea how that happened."

The task looked "impossible" at one stage, Kohli admitted, and said it was his partner, Hardik, who pushed him hard. "It seemed impossible but then Hardik kept pushing me in that partnership and we just went deep," he said. "It just happened. Hardik kept telling me: 'just believe, believe we can do it, stay till the end'. Honestly, I'm lost for words."

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