IND vs PAK 2022: “He used his brain” – Virat Kohli lauds Ravichandran Ashwin for forcing Mohammad Nawaz to bowl wide in last-ball thriller

Virat Kohli praised Ravichandran Ashwin for remaining calm in the last over against Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23). He said the all-rounder forced bowler Mohammad Nawaz to make a mistake by coming inside the line when India required two runs off the last ball.

Ashwin also held his nerves to hit over mid-off off the final delivery to help the Men in Blue defeat Pakistan by four wickets in a nail-biting contest.

Speaking to Star Sports, Kohli said:

“I told Ash to try and hit over the covers, but he used his brain to the next level. I mean, that was a very brave thing to do. He came inside the line and forced the bowler to bowl wide. Afterward, the situation was that if we hit the ball in the gap, we would win the match.”

Sharing the video, Star Sports captioned:

"A game awareness like none other, @ashwinravi99 for you, ladies and gentleman"

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“People relax and get overexcited that it’s [almost] done” – Virat Kohli

Kohli mentioned that when the equation changes from 15-16 an over to just two runs off a couple of deliveries, then people get overexcited. Ashwin, however, used his experience to come out on top after Dinesh Karthik’s dismissal left the fans on the edge of their seats. He said,

“When you require runs at an average of 15 or 16 and then you need only two runs off two balls, people relax and get overexcited that it's [almost] done. Then DK got run out or stumping, whatever you call it.”

With 48 runs required off the last three overs, Kohli saved his best for ace Pakistani bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.

The right-handed batter hit three boundaries in the 18th over, bowled by Shaheen. He also finished the penultimate over with back-to-back sixes against in-form Pakistan pacer Rauf.

Kohli then hit Mohammad Nawaz for six off a no-ball to put India in the driving seat.

Speaking to Star Sports post-match, he shed light on his plans with Hardik Pandya for the end overs:

"Hardik believed we can do it if we stayed till the end. When Shaheen bowled from the pavilion end, that's when we decided to take him down. Haris is their prime bowler, and I hit those two sixes. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic.”

Rohit Sharma and Co. will next play against the Netherlands at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday (October 27).