“Ye idea nahi tha ki mujhe seedha maar sakta hai”: Harif Rauf expresses awe of Virat Kohli’s memorable six off his bowling at MCG during T20 World Cup 2022

An Asia Cup debacle followed by the T20 World Cup disappointment has not sit down well with the Indian Cricket fans, but the latter surely provided them with a moment or two worth cherishing for many years to come, and that too against the arch-rivals Pakistan.

In what was yet another successful World Cup campaign for India’s very own star Virat Kohli, the master class of a knock had arrived during India’s tournament opener itself, when he played a jaw-dropping innings of 82* (53) to nail the seemingly impossible to scale run-chase.

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However, the most talked about moment from Kohli’s innings had arrived during the fifth delivery of the 19th Over of the chase, when the 34-year-old stood his ground to a short, slower delivery bowled by pacer Haris Rauf at his chest height, to miraculously hit it straight towards the sight screen for a maximum.

Kohli had nailed that shot with India needing 28 runs off 8 deliveries, and then followed it up with another maximum towards the fine leg fence, to leave the entire cricketing fraternity slack-jawed.

Harif Rauf expresses awe of Virat Kohli’s memorable six

More than a month after the aforementioned Kohli special shot, Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf opened up on his bowling plan before bowling that particular delivery, and how no other batter but Kohli could have dealt it with the way he did.

During an interaction with Pakistani Cricket statistician Mazher Arshad for CricWick, Rauf, when asked whether he could have bowled that particular delivery somewhat differently, remarked that he had come up with the slower ball not only because the squarer boundaries were bigger, but also because he had managed to deceive Kohli with the slower ones earlier in the Over as well. However, he had no idea that he would be somehow hit straight over his head for a Six by the chase-master.

“Jab 8 baulon pe 28 reh gaye the, aur usee pehle bhi maine teen slower kiye hue the jisse vo deceive hue the. To koshish yahi the ki dobaara slower one thoda sa maar ke karunga, boundary thodi badi hai. Mujhe ye idea nahi tha ki mujhe seedha maar sakta hai. To usne jab vo seedha maara to vo uski class thi (Had bowled three slower deliveries earlier in the Over after which the equation read 28 required off 8 deliveries. So the attempt was to bowl the same on the shorter side with the big squarer boundaries in view. But, I had no idea that he (Kohli) could hit me straight down the ground. So when he hit that, it was nothing but Kohli’s class on display),” remarked Rauf.

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