Are These the Ultimate Kohli Specials vs Pakistan in T20s?
The Indian team prepares for the Asia Cup 2025, but they will be missing out on Virat Kohli in the matches against Pakistan. Kohli has helped India dominate over them for more than a decade, taking the match away from Pakistan even when the wickets fell continuously.
The clash between India and Pakistan has always been intense, not just for the fans who watch it on the field or TV, but also for the players. It is not just the border tensions that make this match carry more weight to the players; it is also about the dignity of the nation, which makes it a high-stakes clash.
And when a player performs once in this high-stakes clash, he is known as the saviour of his team. But, if a player is able to dominate in such games almost every time, he is the Greatest of All-time, or fans even call him Virat Kohli. Whenever India and Pakistan go against each other, Virat Kohli has been the one who ensured that India won’t lose the game.
Fans might think that Virat Kohli has not done much against Pakistan in the T20 format, but they will be shocked to know his contribution to the team in the T20 matches against Pakistan. Take a look at the table given below to know about the top run scorers between India and Pakistan’s T20 matches since Kohli’s debut.
| Player | Matches | Runs | High Score | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 11 | 492 | 82* | 70.28 | 123.92 | 5 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 6 | 140 | 72 | 35.00 | 118.64 | 1 |
| Rohit Sharma | 11 | 97 | 28 | 10.77 | 105.43 | 0 |
| Rishabh Pant | 3 | 95 | 42 | 31.66 | 130.13 | 0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 7 | 91 | 40 | 18.20 | 116.66 | 0 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 3 | 70 | 42 | 23.33 | 120.68 | 0 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 3 | 64 | 43 | 21.33 | 118.51 | 0 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 5 | 64 | 18 | 12.80 | 118.51 | 0 |
| MS Dhoni | 6 | 54 | 33 | 27.00 | 145.94 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 7 | 50 | 35 | 12.50 | 106.38 | 0 |
Virat Kohli leads the charts with a massive margin, and with his retirement, the Indian team will be missing him in the Asia Cup 2025. In this tournament, India and Pakistan are expected to clash against each other up to three times, and every game will remind fans of the King. Let’s take a look at Virat Kohli’s best performances against Pakistan in the T20 format.
Asia Cup 2016
The Asia Cup 2016 came to be yet another time when Virat Kohli showcased that he could help India to win the game, even at times when the other batsmen fail to perform. India and Pakistan faced each other at Dhaka, a pitch which has been known to favour the bowlers.
| India vs Pakistan, 4th Match, Dhaka | |
|---|---|
| Pakistan: 83 (17.3 Overs) | India: 85/5 (15.3 Overs) |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed: 25 (24) | Virat Kohli: 49 (51) |
| Hardik Pandya: 3/8 | Mohammad Amir: 3/18 |
| India Won by 5 Wickets | |
Being aware of this fact, India had won the toss in this game and decided to field first. Within a few overs, the Indian bowlers had the upper hand against Pakistan, putting the team at the score of 32/3 in the powerplay. Eventually, Pakistan got all out at the score of 83. Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets for India, and Jadeja took 2, with Nehra, Bumrah, and Yuvraj taking one each.
When the fans thought India would be able to win this game easily, Pakistan tried to spoil the plans. Mohammad Amir started off with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane in the very first over, and Mohammad Sami went on to take the wicket of Suresh Raina in the third over, putting India at the score of 8/3.
Coming in at number 3, Virat Kohli played a knock of 49 runs from 51 balls with 7 fours, putting India at the score of 76 before losing his wicket. It looks like a slow knock in the T20 format, but taking a look at the pitch conditions, it would have been only Virat Kohli who could have helped India to win that day.
Asia Cup 2022
Virat Kohli was having a tough phase, as he was not able to score runs consistently for the Indian cricket team. During the Asia Cup 2022, he made up his mind that if he is not able to perform well in the match against Pakistan, he will end up taking his retirement from all formats of the game. However, the match against Pakistan came as a lifesaver, not just for him but also for the Indian team.
| India vs Pakistan, 2nd Match, Dubai | |
|---|---|
| Pakistan: 147 (19.5 Overs) | India: 148/5 (19.4 Overs) |
| Mohammad Rizwan: 43 (42) | Ravindra Jadeja: 35 (29) |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4/26 | Mohammad Nawaz: 3/33 |
| India Won by 5 Wickets | |
The second match of the tournament was being played between India and Pakistan. This time India also won the toss and they decided to field first. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed played well, which helped Pakistan score 147 runs before being all out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4 wickets for the team, while Hardik and Arshdeep took 3 and 2 respectively.
It was surely not an easy pitch to bat on, and India started off by losing the wicket of KL Rahul in the second ball of their innings. Virat Kohli, coming in at number 3, played his classic shots, and Rohit Sharma helped him from the other end. He had a 52-run stand with Rohit Sharma before losing his wicket after scoring 35 runs from 34 balls with 3 fours and one six.
Later, India went on to win the match, as Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja played well, allowing the team to win by 5 wickets and 2 balls remaining. Although Virat Kohli was not the Player of the Match of this game, it helped him to regain his confidence, and continue playing for the Indian cricket team across all formats of the game.
This match also holds utmost importance for Virat Kohli, as he ended up scoring his 71st century in the same tournament. Later in India’s last match against Afghanistan, Kohli scored 122 runs off just 61 balls, ending the break for the fans, as he continued to play for the Indian team.
T20 World Cup 2022
Talking about Virat Kohli’s best T20 knocks against Pakistan, we definitely cannot forget about his clutch of century in the T20 World Cup 2022. The same year that he regained his confidence with the Asia Cup match against Pakistan, he went on to create one of his best T20 innings against them on the grandest stage.
| India vs Pakistan, 16th Match, Melbourne | |
|---|---|
| Pakistan: 159/8 (20 Overs) | India: 160/6 (20 Overs) |
| Shan Masood: 52* (42) | Virat Kohli: 82* (53) |
| Hardik Pandya: 3/30 | Haris Rauf: 2/36 |
| India Won by 4 Wickets | |
In the 16th match of the tournament, India and Pakistan faced each other, with India again winning the toss and deciding to field first. The Indian pace attack, being led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh, dismissed the openers quickly. But after that, Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed went on to score half-centuries, taking Pakistan to a good score.
Pakistan ended up scoring 159/8 in their innings, as Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets each. The target seemed easy to chase, but Pakistan got an upper hand within the powerplay, as India stood at the score of 31 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, during 6.1 overs. At a time when every Indian fan lost hope, Virat Kohli stepped up once again.
Kohli first went on to complete his half-century in just 43 balls, but he knew that the job is still not done. During the 18th over, he first went on to score 15 runs against Shaheen Shah Afridi, which gave some hope to the Indian fans. In the 19th over, India stood at the phase when the team needed 28 runs off 8 balls, and Haris Rauf was bowling to Virat Kohli.
Kohli smashed the last two balls for consecutive sixes, and one of them has also been named by the ICC as the Shot of the Century. With India needing 16 runs off the last over, Kohli scored 8 runs with his bat, and took 3 runs in the form of byes, which helped India to win the match that they had almost lost at one point in time.
T20 World Cup 2016
The T20 World Cup 2016 was being hosted by India, as fans were excited for the classic clash between India and Pakistan. Both teams went against each other once again in the 19th match of the tournament, which was set to be played at the iconic Eden Gardens.
| India vs Pakistan, 19th Match, Kolkata | |
|---|---|
| Pakistan: 118/5 (18 Overs) | India: 119/4 (15.5 Overs) |
| Shoaib Malik: 26 (16) | Virat Kohli: 55* (37) |
| Suresh Raina: 1/4 | Mohammad Sami: 2/17 |
| India Won by 6 Wickets | |
The match was already interrupted by rain, being reduced to 18 overs each side. Pakistan was again sent to bat first as India won the toss, and the pitch looked challenging. Only Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik scored more than 25 runs for Pakistan, as the team scored 118 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
It was expected to be an easy win for the Indian team, filled with batsmen such as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and many more. But Pakistan’s bowling line-up brought early challenges, as Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Amir took wickets within the powerplay to put India at the score of 23/3.
At this moment, Virat Kohli maintained his calmness and had a 61-run stand with Yuvraj Singh, putting India at a strong position. Following Yuvraj’s wicket, Dhoni came to the crease and helped Virat Kohli to finish the game. Kohli ended up scoring 55 runs off just 37 balls, with 7 fours and one six, even at a challenging pitch, dominating Pakistan yet again.
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