ICC Finals: In the history of World Cricket, the most important match for any player is The ICC Finals. Every player dreams of being a World Champion and that too in all three forms of the game and for that, every ICC finals is significant. India has reached 11 finals of the tournaments which the International Cricket Council has hosted.
From that 11 ICC Finals, The Men in Blue have won six trophies across the formats. In 1983, India won the first-ever ICC Trophy under the leadership of Kapil Dev. Then it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the only captain in World Cricket to lift all three ICC finals. Mahi Bhai won the 2007 T20 World Cup finals in South Africa, the 2011 ODI World Cup in India and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England.
India had also won the Champions Trophy in 2002, which was shared with Sri Lanka because of a complete washout. Since 2013, it has been a wait of 11 years for India to win the next ICC Finals. In 2023, India had reached two ICC finals. But they lost the World Test Championship finals and ODI World Cup finals against The Aussies.
But in 2024, the long wait was over in the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit-led side won the ICC Finals for the second time in the shortest format after 17 years.
Virat Kohli, the King of International cricket has bailed India out in the three finals which India has won. In the 2014 T20 World Cup final as well, King Kohli was the top scorer of that must-win encounter against The Sri Lankans Tigers in Dhaka. But that team under MS Dhoni couldn’t lift that year’s ICC Trophy.
Here Are The Three Knocks Of King Virat Kohli In The ICC Finals
Virat Kohli has been part of the three ICC Finals wins as a player. Kohli was in the team during the ODI World Cup Triumph in 2011 at home and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy win in England. Now he was also the champion of the shortest format in 2024. All three wins in the ICC Finals have come only as a player for Kohli.
Under his captaincy stint with the Men in Blue, India reached the finals of the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup, both the ICC events were played in England and India couldn’t win those tournaments as they lost the CT final match versus Pakistan and ODI WC semis versus New Zealand.
- 2011 – As we all know India’s iconic moment in the ODI World Cup 2011 was held at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sri Lanka batted first and posted a formidable score of 274 runs for the loss of six wickets. The Lankans reached that score because of a magnificent century scored by Mahela Jayawardene. He scored an unbeaten 103 runs.
In the run chase of 275 runs, India lost the wicket of Virender Sehwag on the second bowl and the Master Blaster was also out cheaply. Sachin Tendulkar scored just 18 runs in his final ODI World Cup innings. India was under pressure in the big finals. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli steadied the ship for India in this run chase.
Kohli’s innings wasn’t a big one. He didn’t even reach the half-century mark. But in the circumstances which India was in, Kohli’s knock of 35 runs from 49 deliveries was very vital in the context of the match. That knock from the King brought India closer to the target and allowed them to win that tournament after a wait of 28 long years.
2. 2013 – India was in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 when it was hosted in England. Edgbaston was the venue for the finals and the hosts England at the opposition side of MSD and Co. The rains also showed their presence and it looked like India would share the Trophy again just like in 2002, they did with Sri Lanka.
Later, the fifty-overs Champions Trophy turned into a twenty-over contest. India batted first and they struggled to put up a decent score. Then it was King Kohli again who did what was required at that moment. Virat scored a vital 43 runs which allowed India to post a decent score of 129 runs.
3. 2024 – The recent knock of Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup final also ended as match match-winning one. Kohli struggled throughout the tournament of this edition. In the United States Of America and West Indies, Kohli’s bat was silent and many thought that he should play at his usual number three instead of opening the innings.
But skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid backed the seasoned campaigner and the King delivered in the finals of this edition of the T20 World Cup. India batted first in the finals and posted a decent score of 176 runs in front of South Africa. The Men in Blue couldn’t have reached this score because of Kohli’s 76-run knock.
India had lost Rohit, Surya and Pant early than expected. Then it was Virat and Axar who shared a partnership and brought the Indian innings on track. The Indian bowlers also picked up timely wickets which never allowed South Africa to settle down and eventually, they fell 7 runs short of that score in the end.
Also Read – Team India’s Historic Victory Parade: Celebrating the Triumph in Mumbai
