Occasion of grand final inspired turnaround: Kohli

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

India batting icon Virat Kohli says the occasion of the Twenty20 World Cup final had been the inspiration behind his Man of the Match half-century which ended an unusual run of lean form in the tournament.

The stylish right-hander top-scored with 76 off 59 balls as India beat South Africa by seven runs at Kensington Oval on Saturday to lift the T20 World Cup title for the second time.

Kohli had managed only 75 runs from his previous seven innings in the tournament, with a best of 37 against Bangladesh, but produced a masterclass for the Indians at the most critical time.

"It was just the occasion. It was a now-or-never kind of a situation, I knew," the 35-year-old said, while announcing his retirement from the shortest format.

"This is my last T20 game playing for India - the last World Cup I was going to play in - so I wanted to make the most of it.

"And this was our aim, we wanted to win an ICC tournament, we wanted to lift the cup.

"And like I said, it was the occasion that helped me to put my head down, just respect the situation instead of trying to force things out there, and really play the game my team wanted me to play."

Kohli struggled on the low, slow pitch at the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, where India played three of their group-stage games, managing scores of one, four and zero.

He was dismissed without scoring in the final Super Eight game against Australia and made only nine against England in last Thursday's semi-final, and said there had been a loss of confidence.

"It's hard to explain, the emotions I felt after the game [today]," he noted.

"I knew what kind of mindset I was in. I wasn't very confident in the last few games, I wasn't feeling really good out there.

"But when God has to bless you with something, He shows you in ways you can't imagine. I am really grateful and humble, and I bow my head."

He added: "This is an amazing game; I was telling Rohit (Sharma) today when we went out to bat, one day you feel like you can't get a run, and then you come out and things happen.

"God is great, I bow my head in gratitude. I'm just really grateful I was able to get the job done for the team on the day that it mattered the most."

Kohli, a former captain, has been the most influential player of his generation for India, dominating in all formats.

He has notched one hundred along with 38 half-centuries in gathering 4,188 runs from 125 T20Is at an average of 48, but said it was time to move aside for the next generation.

"This was an open secret. This was something I was going to announce even if we had lost," he said.

"This was going to be my last T20 World Cup playing for India - it's time for the next generation to take over.

"[There's a] two-year cycle. There are some amazing players playing in India, and they are going to take the team forward in the Twenty20 format and they will do wonders, as we have seen in the IPL.

Scores: India 176 for seven off 20 overs (Virat Kohli 76, Axar Patel 47; Keshav Maharaj 2-23; South Africa 169 for eight off 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 52, Quinton de Kock 39; Hardik Pandya 3-20, Jasprit Bumrah 2-18).