Diwali is a celebration of lights and crackers. The word Fireworks is associated with Diwali as well as cricket. Fans interpret Kohli’s performance against Pakistan in last night’s T20 World Cup as a Diwali gift for the country.
For Kohli, the inning at the MCG was also a response to those who criticized his cricket career as over. Kohli led the Indian team to the comfort of victory with his stunning performance.
But this isn’t the first time Indian cricketers set off fireworks on the 15th day before Diwali. Before Virat Kohli’s inning the other day, two other players played a memorable inning on the cricket pitch just before Diwali.
The first is former Indian captain MS Dhoni. In 2005, Diwali was November 1st. Shortly before, MS Dhoni’s inning was in Jaipur against Sri Lanka on 31 October.
Dhoni, who came out as the number three hitter, scored 183 unbeaten out of 145 balls with 15 fours and 10 sixes. The peculiarity of this inning was when India hadn’t even played their first international T20 game.
After Dhoni, the hitter who beat with fireworks on the eve of Diwali is the current Indian captain Rohit Sharma. This inning was on the eve of Diwali in 2013. Rohit’s inning was against Australia at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. Hitman’s first double century, which marked three ODI double centuries, was born that day.
Rohit, who came out into the open, scored 209 points directly out of 158 balls. The inning was filled with 12 fours and 16 sixes. After Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the hitman became the first player to mark a double century in international cricket.
