The way Kohli hit those sixes, don’t think any other player can hit - Haris Rauf

Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf said that Virat Kohli brought a "different class" to the game, and the Indian batter was credited for leading India to a four-wicket victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.

In front of over 90,000 fans at the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Kohli scored an unbeaten 82 off of 53 balls in what turned out to be one of the most exciting games of cricket in recent memory.

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Chasing a total of 160, India was in deep trouble after Pakistan's pacer had run through the top order, leaving the rest of the batting line-up with a daunting task.

A 113-run partnership between Kohli and Pandya (40 off 37) got the run chase back on track. India needed 28 runs off the final eight balls, and Rauf was bowling the second-to-last over of the innings, during which he had given up only three runs off his first four deliveries.

Rauf had bowled a slower ball on a back-of-a-length zone, tempting Kohli to play on the longer side of the ground because the square boundaries at the MCG are quite big.

Kohli, standing very tall at the crease, shocked everyone, including bowler Rauf, by producing a shot down the ground for a six.

"The way he [Kohli] played in the World Cup, that is his class; we all know the types of shots he plays. And the way he hit those sixes, I don’t think any other player can hit a shot like that off my bowling," said Rauf in an exclusive interview with Cricwick.

"If Dinesh Karthik aur Hardik Pandya would’ve hit those sixes, I would’ve been hurting, but those came off Kohli’s bat, and he is a different class altogether."

Rauf explained how his strategy and execution in bowling those deliveries were flawless, but Kohli's shot was a class act because he had no answer left.

"Look, India required 31 off the last 12 balls. I had given away only three runs off four deliveries. I knew Nawaz was bowling the last over, he is a spinner, and I had tried to leave at least four big boundaries for him and leave at least more than 20 runs.

"And since 28 were required off eight balls, I had bowled three slower balls, and he was deceived. I had only bowled one quick ball out of four. So the idea was to bowl a slower one on that back-of-a-length zone since the boundary was larger on the square side.

"I had no idea that he can hit me down the ground off that length. So when he hit that shot off me, that’s his class. My plan and execution was fine, but that shot was all class."