India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recalled the tense moment he walked out to bat against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday. Two runs were needed off one ball when Ashwin joined Kohli in the middle after the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik.

Ashwin kept calm as he left the first delivery outside the leg stump. Subsequently, Ashwin lofted the ball over mid-off for the winning run.

The off-spinner reckons some magical spirit went inside Virat Kohli that day against Pakistan as the talisman batted in the beast mode. Kohli scored an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 53 balls to take his team over the line in a thrilling finish.

“I really think some spirit went inside him that day. Leave all the shots he played, after the first 45 deliveries he faced, he was so charged-up. We all saw the Ganga that transformed into Chandramukhi,” Ashwin said in his YouTube show.

Ashwin revealed that he cursed Dinesh Karthik after the wicket-keeper batter was stumped on the penultimate when two runs were needed off the final two deliveries. However, the experienced all-rounder added he was focused on what needed to be done.

“Virat Kohli, with his intense eyes, gave me a couple of ideas as to where to hit the final delivery. I told myself ‘you can hit them like that. I will try to do what I can’. As I walked in to bat, I cursed Dinesh Karthik for a second and then later thought, “No no, it’s time to reset. We still have time, let us do what we were here for,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin did a fine job of keeping his cool and got the winning runs for the team in a tense situation. On the other hand, Kohli was at his lethal best and played one of the best knocks of his career.

India has got off to a perfect start in the ongoing T20I showpiece and the Men in Blue will look to continue the good show in the upcoming matches. The Rohit Sharma-led team will play their second match of the T20 World Cup 2022 against the Netherlands at the SCG on Thursday.