Quote of the day by Virat Kohli: Something higher was guiding me

Mumbai, 14 October 2026 – On the eve of India’s second group-stage encounter against Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli has offered a rare glimpse into the innings that continues to define modern cricket folklore. Speaking to the media, the former captain revisited the extraordinary comeback he masterminded during the teams’ previous meeting, an episode he insists defied logic and planning.

“I was going through what I was going through,” Kohli began, recalling the mental fog that had enveloped him during the tournament’s early phase. “Then I came back in the Asia Cup and I was playing well and I felt like ‘Wow I’m ready to play in this World Cup’.”

What followed was anything but readiness. At the halfway mark of the chase India sat reeling at 31 for 4, Kohli himself on an excruciating 12 off 25 balls and having just run partner Axar Patel out. “I remember in the break, Rahul bhai came to me and I don’t remember what he said. I swear and I even told him this as well. I told him, ‘I have no idea what you told me in that break because I was zoned out’.”

The 37-year-old described a mind “spinning so fast” that he felt the situation had become irretrievable. “I had spiralled down so far down that there is no comeback from here and that was my honest feeling at the halfway mark.”

It was at that nadir, Kohli insists, that instinct replaced intellect. “That is when my instinct took over. So, when I stopped thinking and planning, whatever God-given talent I have that came to the surface and then I felt like something higher was guiding me. I can’t claim any of that.”

The transformation was immediate and devastating. From surviving nine consecutive overs without finding the boundary, Kohli took on Pakistan’s premium trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz, converting a near-certain defeat into a famous victory sealed with a last-ball six.

“The lesson for me was stop using your mind so much because it actually pushes you away from real magic,” he reflected. “What happened that night, I can never explain it and it won’t happen ever again.”

As India and Pakistan prepare to lock horns once more tomorrow at the same venue, Kohli’s words serve as both reminder and warning: greatness on sport’s biggest stage can spring from surrender as much as from strategy.