Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the strongest pillars of Indian cricket currently. A lot of India’s success depends on their performance with the bat and leadership skills on the field. A big hundred from Kohli or Rohit or a big partnership between the two often results in India’s victory against some of the best teams in the world. While there is nothing new to add about the class they ooze when on the cricket field, batting together, fans were treated to something special when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma interviewed each other after India’s 101-run victory against Afghanistan in their last Super 4 match in Dubai on Thursday.
India captain Rohit Sharma decided to sit out, allowing KL Rahul and Kohli to open the innings for India. It proved to be a masterstroke as Kohli and Rahul registered a 119-run stand – the highest of the tournament so far – to get off to a dream start after Afghanistan opted to bowl. Rahul perished for a well-made 62 off 41 balls but Kohli carried on to smash his maiden T20I century and the first one in any format since November 23, 2019. Kohli ended up with 122* off 61 balls, bettering Rohit Sharma’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian in the shortest format of the game.
After the match, Rohit and Kohli sat together to discuss about Thursday’s match. The interview, however, started on a lighter note. After Rohit’s long question in Hindi, Kohli could not control his laughter.
Watch Video: Virat Kohli in splits after Rohit Sharma’s question in Hindi
Rohit Sharma: “Virat bohut badhai aapko. Aapka 71st hundred… Pura India wait kar rahi tha. I’m sure India se zyada aap wait kar rahe the. Jo time apne spend kia hai itne salo mein apne game ko khelte hue. Hume toh pata hi tha ye milestones honge. Ye century special hai kyuki hume jeetna tha. aapne gaps acche dhunde, acche shots mare, sahi bowler ko target kara. Apne innings k baade mei bataiye, kaisa tha, kaisa shuruwat hua aapka. (Many congratulations to you Virat. Everyone in India was waiting for your 71st hundred but I’m sure your wait was bigger. The kind of hard work you were putting, we all knew that these milestones will come but this century is special because we needed to win. You played great shots, found the gaps, targetted the right bowler, so tell us about your innigs)”
Virat Kohli: “Itni shuddh Hindi bol raha hai mere saath pahli baar.” (You are talking to me in pure Hindi for the first time)
Rohit Sharma: “Maine toh socha tha Hindi English mix karunga. But Hindi ka itna accha rhythm mila toh maine socha Hindi mein hi baat karta hu. (I thought of keeping it a mix of English and Hindi but the flow in Hindi was so good that I decided to carry on).”
Virat Kohli: “Thank you Rohit. Kaafi special din tha hamae lie. Humne baat ki thi ki kis attitude se hum tournament mein ate hai wo hamare lie matter karega kyuki hamare lie ye zaroori tha kyuki hume knockouts ka exposure mila, pressure ka exposure mila. Lekin hamara goal sabko pata hai kya hai. Wo hai Australia mein jo World Cup, hum uske lie improve kar rahe hai cheezein. We will learn from the mistakees. Personally, 12-13 saal k baad maine itna lamba break lia. Maine bat nahi chua. Toh kaafi cheezein perspective mein ayi. Uske baad tum logo k taraf se, mangement k taraf se communication clear thi ‘just let me bat’. The space that I got from all of you made me calm down. (We had talked about how to important this tournament is. We were tested in knockout games, put under pressure. But we all know our goal is the T20 World Cup in Australia. And we are improving and learning from the mistakes. Personally, this was the first time in 12-13 years that I didn’t pick up a bat for so long. A lot of things came into perspective. After that, you guys and the management gave me time, you just let me bat.)”
