ON THIS DAY
Follow UsDespite India's almost flawless run in the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup, which the Men in Blue had won on their home soil, the fans and BCCI needed more certainty about the side's future.
While they had a stable skipper in MS Dhoni, the side still needed veterans like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Zaheer Khan to hold the anchor. India's legacy of producing the next "batsman of the era" was also at stake, with Tendulkar reaching the fag end of his glorious career.
However, all these hesitancies disappeared on Feb 28, 2012. Interestingly, nothing in India's immediate past had hinted at the things to come. After losing the Test series 4-0 down under to Australia, the Men in Blue were coming to this match at the back of three consecutive defeats that left them needing them to win with a bonus point to stay alive in the CB series tournament.
Despite losing to India in the 2011 World Cup final, the Sri Lanka cricket team was at the epitome of greatness with a perfect blend of experience and youth, producing consistent results against the best sides. Hence, it wasn't surprising that the Lankans put up a mammoth target of 321 after being asked to bat first at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
Tillakaratne Dilshan's unbeaten 160 run-knock and Kumar Sangakkara's 105 saw India's premier bowlers regularly taken to the cleaners. While the weather and pitch conditions suited the chase, Sri Lanka boasted of an in-form Lasith Malinga in their bowling line-up, who would eventually end up with the most wickets (18) in the series.
When a 23-year-old Virat Kohli came out to bat in the 10th over, Tendulkar was dismissed by Malinga, and India needed 235 more runs to win. However, in order to stay alive in the competition, MS Dhoni's men needed to chase it down in the next 30 overs.
Though Kohli had already hit seven ODI tons before that, his last five scores read 21, 66, 12, 15 and 18. So while Kohli's talent was unquestionable, only some people believed India could do the impossible and qualify. But Kohli had other plans as he targeted Malinga, the Lankan bowler who was the most fearsome. His first ball of the match was a glorious flick through midwicket for a boundary as Malinga's mistimed yorker delivery met with Kohli's immaculate timing off the willow.
Though Kohli primarily dealt with singles and doubles in the initial phase of his innings, he showed conviction very few batsmen had shown in the entire series.
Kohli and Gambhir would forge a 115-run stand before the reliable southpaw was dismissed by run-out in the 28th over. With India still needing 120 runs in 12.3 overs to make it through, Kohli knew that the incoming Suresh Raina had to keep the scoreboard ticking from the word go. And the duo did exactly that, adding 71 runs in the next six overs until the now-historic over of Malinga came about.
It was the 35th over, and India required 41 runs in five overs to attain the bonus point along with the win. With both the batters looking to discard every ball to the stands, Malinga's yorkers were the ideal answer. It was a high-risk-high-reward scenario, and Kohli seized it with both hands.
Kohli hit four boundaries and a six to add 32 runs to his kitty from the 35th over itself, before finishing the match two overs later against the same bowler with two consecutive boundaries.
"You can't do much when they bat like that... Virat played out of his skin on a true pitch. It was the first off day for our bowlers in the tournament, so fair enough," Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene had said after the match.
India's match against Sri Lanka in Hobart was Sachin Tendulkar's last match in Australia, a nation that had adored the Indian batting legend for two decades. However, little did the Australian cricket lovers know that they had already gotten another batsman to fall in love with the same day Tendulkar played his last on Australian soil.
