Virat Kohli was named Player of the Tournament for his sensational run during the ICC World Twenty20. Even though India were handed a six-wicket defeat by eventual champions West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium, Kohli stood out with 273 runs from five matches.
The run of scores were 23, 55 not out, 24, 82 not out and 89 not out. But more than the quantity of runs, what stood out was the circumstances in which he played the big knocks. The under-pressure batting performances have not only made the spectators wonderstruck, but also earned plaudits from the experts. Kohli though was not present to receive the award. The crowd at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata chanted ‘Kohli…Kohli’ after Virat Kohli’s name was announced by Nasser Hussain as the Player of the Series.
During their deliberations, the members of the panel discussed several names, highlighting such players as England’s Joe Root and Tamin Iqbal of Bangladesh, who scored more runs than any other player. But the panel decided Kohli’s crucial contributions to his team’s run in the tournament were deserving of the player-of-the-tournament award.
Kohli is the fifth man named as the player of the tournament at an ICC World Twenty20 event. Previous winners include Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (2007), Shahid Afridi of Pakistan (2009), Kevin Pietersen of England (2010) and Australia’s Shane Watson (2012).
Picture Credit : Google
