Kohli faced an awful choice whether to cremate his father or to go and finish his innings for Delhi. The news of Prem Kohli's demise had already travelled throughout the Delhi dressing room. Chetanya Nanda was informed that Kohli won't come to bat and he was asked to pad up. But, his teammates, opposition and even the match officials were shocked to see Virat Kohli arriving in the dressing room in full cricketing gear. He chose to go in and bat.
He played for 281 minutes and faced 238 balls. When he was declared out after scoring a match-saving 90, just before lunch though the bat had brushed the pad as replays showed, his team was clearly out of trouble, with only 36 runs needed to avoid the follow-on.
At around 12, he watched the replay of his dismissal in the dressing room, quietly removed his pads and went straight to attend the funeral. From 14-4 (top order back to the pavilion), Delhi had managed to save the match and the man who lost his father the night before, was responsible for Delhi's turnaround.
He knew that his father was gone. But he surely knew Delhi needed him and match could be saved. He just wanted to fulfil his father's dreams, knowing that some part of his life would never be the same. This shows how big a team man he is.
Sampoorna
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