Mumbai: Virat Kohli bid goodbye to T20 Internationals on a high.
Man of the Match in India’s gutsy 7-run win over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final on Saturday, Kohli said this was his last T20 World Cup and it was time for many talented youngsters to take over the mantle.
“This was my last T20 World Cup, and this is what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel you can’t get a run, then things happen. God is great, and I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered. Now or never, last T20 for India, wanted to make the most of it,” Kohli told Star Sports after being presented the Man-of-the-Match trophy.
He added that he would have bowed out of T20 Internationals whatever the result of the final might have been.
“This was an open secret, it’s time for the next generation to take over, some amazing players will take the team forward and keep the flag waving high.”
Asked about the hole India were in at 34/3, Kohli said: “Wanted to lift the Cup, wanted to respect the situation rather than force it.”
Kohli had aggregated just 75 runs in the previous 7 games, with a highest score of 37. But on the biggest stage, the peerless Kohli delivered yet again.