‘Maarne to chhakka hi ja raha hai woh’: Kohli tells tensed Rohit as raw dressing room footage from AUS win goes viral

A tense chase at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium had everyone on the edge of their seats. The Indian dressing room was no different. Virat Kohli, who would have loved to be out in the middle to carve out the winning runs, stood right in front of the room along with the rest of the players while a tensed Rohit Sharma sat in the corner. But within moments, the players heaved a huge sigh of relief and burst into wild celebrations as KL Rahul finished it off in style with a six to hand India a four-wicket win in the semifinal against Australia.

India did make a shaky start to the chase of 264 as they lost their first two wickets for 43 runs, but another masterclass of a knock from Kohli, who scored 84 off 98, along with efforts from the rest of the middle-order batters – Shreyas Iyer (45), Rahul (42*) and Hardik Pandya (28) saw India cruise past the target with 11 balls to spare.

After the match, BCCI released dressing room footage from moments before the big win in Dubai, where Kohli looked in a rather jovial mood compared to a nervous Rohit when Hardik and Rahul were in the midst of their partnership. However, the all-rounder departed when India were just a hit away from securing the win. As Ravindra Jadeja walked down the stairs, Kohli is seen telling Rohit: “Maarne to chhakka hi ja raha hai woh” (he is going in intending to hit a six).”

KL Rahul fulfills Kohli’s wish

Eventually, Rahul hit the winning run. After getting back on strike in the penultimate over, the wicketkeeper-batter took on Glenn Maxwell in the first ball to slot it over long-on for a six.

The shot saw Indian players burst into jubilant celebration in the dressing room, with Kohli, Mohammed Shami and Hardik hugging each other. Rohit, who finally had a smile on his face, was also hugged by Kohli, who later picked up the Player of the Match award for his knock.

It was Kohli’s 24th fifty-plus score in ICC ODI tournaments in 53 innings, overtaking legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (23 in 58 innings) to add another feather to his hat. The 36-year-old also became the first player to complete 1,000 runs in knockout matches across all ICC competitions – ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, World Test Championship, and Champions Trophy.