On This Day In 2016: Virat Kohli's Heroics Knock Australia Out Of T20 World Cup
On March 27, 2016, Virat Kohli's unbeaten 82 off 51 balls led India to victory over Australia in the World T20, earning him Player of the Match and Tournament awards.
On This Day In 2016: Virat Kohli, fondly called as ‘King Kohli’ by his fans, has played several match-winning knocks across different formats in his illustrious career for the Indian cricket team. There have been several occasions when his highly skilled batting have brought Team India out of major crisis situations, with many designating him as the ‘chase master’.
One such brilliant knock was played by Kohli on this day (March 27) in 2016, when his 82 runs off just 51 balls helped India knock Australia out of the World T20 tournament held in India.
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World T20: India Vs Australia In 2016
India played the Super 10 match of World T20 against Australia at Mohali stadium on March 27, 2016.
On this day in 2016, Virat Kohli played one of the greatest T20I knock ever, chasing 161 against Australia in virtual quarter-final, India was 2/37(5.5) then smashed 82* runs from 51 balls – total domination by King – second best score was just 21.pic.twitter.com/hqVMDBlxQu— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 27, 2022
After winning the toss, Australia decided to bat first and put up a healthy total of 160 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets, thanks to 50-plus runs partnership between Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch, who was the top scorer for his side with 43 runs.
Among the Indian bowlers, Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets, while Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh settled for one wicket each.
Chasing the target of 161 runs, India did not start well and lost both its openers — Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan — at the score of 37.
Faced with an uphill task, Virat Kohli yet again showed his resilience and chasing ability on crease as he powered an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 51 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, to guide India to victory by six wickets against Australia, with five balls remaining.
#OnThisDay in 2016, Virat Kohli did this 👇 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rc5dxTDSjp— ICC (@ICC) March 27, 2020
For his inning, Kohli received the Player of the Match award. During the World T20 that year, Kohli made 273 runs in just five matches, with an average of 136.50. He ended up being the second-highest run scorer during the tournament and was honoured with the Player of The Tournament Award.
However, India was unable to defeat West Indies in the semi-final match back then and was knocked out of the World T20. West Indies later lifted the trophy after beating England in the final match.
Kohli announced his retirement from the T20 format last year after India defeated South Africa in Barbados in the final match of T20 World Cup 2024.
In his career, Kohli has played 125 matches, scoring 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69. Overall, he had a strike rate of 137.04. Recently, Team India clinched the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
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