Guwahati: Flooded with wishes from across the country, and the global cricketing fraternity, Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, who turned 34 on Saturday, wishes to cut the cake next Sunday, referring to the T20 World Cup final on November 13.
In a video shared by members of the Indian media contingent at the T20 World Cup, Kohli was seen making his way into the MCG stands after training ahead of India’s last group encounter against Zimbabwe in Melbourne on Sunday.
A cake was kept on a table and Virat, overwhelmed by the lovely gesture from the Indian media, was seen in a great mood, although he requested everyone to refrain from any cricket questions.
“Aap logo ne toh kabhi nahi bhej cake mujhe. (You guys never sent me a cake before),” he said with a smile while waiting for the knife before a senior scribe pressed Kohli to deliver a speech.
“Thank you! Very nice gesture. This is a historic venue and all the media people are here, so it’s a very nice gesture. Preferably I would like to cut one cake which is that (referring to next Sunday’s T20 World Cup final),” said a smiling Kohli.
Towards the end of the video, the former skipper was seen taking a bite of the cake after accepting a greeting card from a veteran sports journalist.
The Indian team also celebrated the Delhi batter’s birthday before the practice session. “Yeah, we got a cake. Rishabh (Pant) had it. Just before we came for practice, yes,” said India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the pre-match press conference.
Kohli shares his birthday with India’s mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton.
On the field, Kohli has reinvented himself in the T20 World Cup after the lull that saw him battle mental demons. Barring the only miss against South Africa in Perth, Kohli has been in ominous touch, averaging 222, with three unbeaten half-centuries against Pakistan, Netherlands and Bangladesh.
India will be hoping Kohli to continue in the same vein against Zimbabwe on Sunday. The men-in-blue are currently at the top of the Group 2 and a win over the African nation will confirm their berth in the last four. So far, New Zealand is the only team to confirm their place in the semi-finals.
However, a loss against Zimbabwe could make things tricky for India, and will have to wait for the outcome of Sunday’s other games, in which Pakistan battle Bangladesh and South Africa up against the Netherlands. In Group 2, South Africa and Pakistan are currently at the second and third places, respectively.
As Ashwin pointed out at the presser, India will hope for a convincing win against Zimbabwe after playing a few close games against the bigger opponents.
“We had quite some close games. Yeah, Bangladesh, Pakistan, all these games went down to the wire. We need to be clinical, as clinical as possible. Like I said, we know no team is a push-over. You will have to still go in there, counter the early pace with the bat and still bowl good balls to be able to generate pressure,” he said.
“So, we are looking forward to the game. Zimbabwe has played some wonderful cricket, so we can’t go in there and expect them to crumble. They bowled well and batted well, so we expect that. Good teams will be clinical and will put the pressure on such days, and it’s a must-win contest. We know that. Like in every other contest in this T20 World Cup, it’s a must-win encounter,” he added.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe have already shown their might by upsetting Pakistan in this World Cup. And skipper Craig Ervine wants his side to do an encore against the men-in-blue at the MCG, which is expected to be filled with a capacity crowd of 90,000 on Sunday.
“With the win against Pakistan, it’s given us a huge amount of belief that we can beat any side in the tournament. I don’t think that will change going into tomorrow’s game,” Ervine said on Saturday.
Aided by some reckless shot selection, Zimbabwe defended a below-par 130 against Pakistan, with all-rounder Sikandar Raza and pacer Bradley Neil Evans sharing five wickets between them. Not to forget, Blessing Muzarabani has been the find of the tournament for them with 11 wickets so far, and shares the second place for most wickets in the tournament. Fellow pacer Richard Ngarava isn’t too far away with eight batters already in his kitty.
“How often do you get the opportunity to put Virat Kohli in your pocket? I’m pretty sure that our fast bowlers will be raring to go come tomorrow,” Ervine said, while pumping up his faster men to come good against one of the best batters of the modern era.
As both teams walk out for the National Anthems on Sunday, all eyes will be glued to the juicy contest between the mighty Indian batting line-up led by Kohli and the young pace battery of Zimbabwe.
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